Hurt, Cookies and Comfort
by The Soft Smell of Rain
Summary: This is now a collection of one-shots featuring Elena and Damon. Some one-shots will be sweet and fluffy while other will have more angst and drama to them. All stories will include Damon taking care of Elena while Stefan is gone on his ripper-tour.
1. Hurt, Cookies and Comfort

_Hey everyone! This is my very first fanfic and it's a one-shot about my favourite TV couple Damon and Elena from Vampire Diaries._

_Elena is going through some difficulties and Damon is right there to help her:)_

_I'm planning on writing a few more one-shots and adding them as later chapters if I get some inspirational reviews on this one:)_

_Please read, enjoy and review!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries or any of the characters in this story. Only the plot is mine._

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><p>Elena was pacing restless around here room. Since last night she hadn't had a moment of sleep and was by now so exhausted she was sure she could have slept anywhere hadn't it been for the terrible pains in her lower stomach. Here pace come to a still as it felt like parts of her stomach was about to tear itself away from the rest of her body. She nearly doubled over in pain and a small moan escaped her dry lips. All she wanted by now was to lay down on her soft bed and sleep until the ache would be over in a day or two, but she knew that if she lay down the pain would grow even worse and she most definitely wouldn't be able to sleep.<p>

Maybe it was one positive aspect with her condition thought. For the moment she wasn't capable of thinking about all the other problems in her life. She did not think about how Stefan had left her three months ago to pay for the cure to save his brothers life. For the first time in weeks she did not think about what Stefan was going through, or what Klaus made him do on their journey together. The images of Jenna's death wasn't haunting her like they used to do either and her thoughts hadn't even been close to thinking about Jeremy's weird behaviour the last few weeks. All her thoughts at the moment was easily consumed by the merciless tearing-sensation in her lower belly.

She had just started a steady pace around her bedroom again when she felt a gust of wind and turned around abruptly to find her window open. Her breath got caught in her throat, when she realized that window had been shut a short time ago. In the blink of an eye her thoughts was once more clear end her survival instinct kicked in. She backed up against the door, suddenly very aware that she was the only one home. Both Jeremy and Alaric were out and weren't expected home anytime soon.

She had nearly reached the door when she backed up against something hard and warm. Her heart skipped a beat and her survival instinct screamed at her to run. Without thinking she spun around to be face to face with the intruder. She gasped when she saw the empty space behind her were someone must have been standing a second ago. Her heartbeat had raced to a painful rhythm when she heard a low chuckle from behind her. Relaxation abruptly hit her and she could feel the adrenaline leave her body, making her wary and even more exhausted.

"Was that really necessary?"

She turned around slowly and met the sight of a dark figure laying sprawled on her bed, dark head resting against the headboard. He gave her a lazy smile and made himself more comfortable on her bed.

"Maybe not necessary, but oh so fun", he replied, eyes watching her with an amused look.

"Why are you here Damon? I'm not really interested in company right now". With the sudden shock over and the adrenaline out of her body the horrible ache was back and made her close her eyes in pain.

"What's wrong?". She opened her eyes and found that his eyes now longer looked amused, but serious and with a hint of worry.

"Nothing is wrong Damon. I just..I'm just tired, okay. Could you please live now." His eyes suddenly became searching. She dropped her gaze to the floor, wishing he would live soon so she could go back to pacing her room in peace and maybe ease the pain a bit that way.

"You're in pain", he said abruptly, dragging her out of her thoughts. Her head snapped up and she met his gaze with wondering eyes.

"No, I'm not. I'm fine Damon", she lied. Now she desperately wanted him to leave before he actually understood what was wrong with her. She straightened her back and tried to look as healthy as she usually did, but a twitch of pain in her belly made her wince at the movement.

"Don't be stupid Elena. I'm a vampire remember. I can hear your heartbeat are faster than usual. And then there is the way your muscles seems to cramp and the blankness in your eyes. You're must definitely in pain and don't try to deny it."

Elena just watched him without saying anything. To be honest she didn't know what to say. Her mind worked in a tremendous speed to find a good answer which wouldn't revile what was actually the matter with her. Before her head had been able to give her a solution though, Damon was speaking again.

"Not to mention I could smell the reason to your pain the moment I entered the room". His eyes travelled from the roof of her room where they had lingered when he spoke, to Elena's face who was by now flushed with blood.

"DAMON!", she yelled, turning so he couldn't see her red face. "Leave. Now", she managed to get out of her dry mouth.

"Not that I needed to smell it to know", he continued, acting like he hadn't heard her last words, "with the mood you're in it's hard to miss what's going one".

Her cheeks turned even redder at his words, and she grabbed a book from her desk before she spun around and threw it at him. He ducked with lightning speed and started chuckling again.

"You bastard!" was all she managed to say to him before a cramp made her double over and let out a little moan of pain. She could feel she was close to throw up because of the pain and she hoped Damon was done humiliating her so he would leave her alone before that happened. She turned around again so he couldn't see her face.

"Why aren't you doped up one painkillers by now Sweetheart", he asked, suddenly very close to her ear. She straightened her back again and could feel him standing right behind her. The teasing was out of his voice and she could feel his concern when he placed a warm hand on her back, right between her shoulder blades.

Her body relaxed a little at his warm touch and she let out a small sigh. "I have taken painkillers, they don't work. I don't know why", she replied at last.

"Well, menstrual cramps is a bitch", he said casually.

"DAMON!", she half yelled again, feeling this was the last topic of earth she wanted to discuss with him.

"WHAT!", he said back, "It's not like it is a big secret is it".

"No, but…". She never got to speak the rest of the sentence because in that moment it felt like her hole belly clenched together in a kaleidoscope of sickening pain. She probably would have dropped to her knees hadn't Damon caught her in his arms and lifted her. He watched her with something like pity in his eyes when he carried her to her bed and gently lay her down on top of the covers.

In the few seconds her body was cradled against his while he carried her she felt her muscles relax a little. The warmth from his chest and arms sipped through her clothes and felt weirdly soothing and comforting and she realised she missed his warmth the second he released her. Her gaze raised to meet his, and she noticed he hadn't completely pulled away , he was still slightly bent over her and watched her with a thoughtful look in his eyes. Her heart fluttered a little when she met his eyes and realized how close he was. He placed himself on the edge of her bed and the hand that had stayed on her shoulder after he carried her slipped down her arm before he carefully placed it on her belly. She couldn't help letting out a small sigh then, when the warmth of his hand made her muscles relax a little.

The sigh didn't miss his ears, and he gave her a small amused smirk in return. The smirk disappeared quickly from his face when he could feel her muscles contract in cramps under his hand and heard the whimpers that slipped from her mouth.

"You really need some rest Honey", he said, tentatively watching her face with the dark circles under her eyes and the wary look of her. "I'll be back in a few minutes", he said and was suddenly gone with vampire speed. She looked around confused and missed his warm and comforting touch as soon as it was gone. It's was no other thing to do than lay down and try to relax. There was now hope of falling asleep though she realized soon enough.

The moment she had decided to start pacing around her room again and was on her way of the bed, Damon reappeared in a blur followed by a small gust of air. He quickly placed something on her nightstand before he gently, but firmly pushed her back on the bed.

"Damon.. I need to move. It hurts", Elena protested feebly.

"Just lay down and relax Elena, and let the great master, that will be me, take care of your little problem

for you".

"Little..",she grunted irritably, but gasped in surprise when she saw what he had put down on her nightstand when he had entered.

"Did you bring me hot cocoa and cookies", she asked with her eyes wide in surprise.

"Of course I did. I've been around a lot longer than you Sweetheart, I know what makes a grumpy woman happy…and more willing I might add", he said with a broad smirk and a wink with his eyes.

She just rolled her eyes, to exhausted to yell or throw anything at him. And she had to admit the gesture was really sweet, whatever his purpose might be. It was a shame that she knew she couldn't eat anything right now, if she didn't want to throw up all over the bed.

Damon could sense she still was in a great deal of pain and suddenly he smirked again when he remembered something that might help her.

"You know, I might be able to help you. As I said, I've been around a long time and I know some techniques that might ease your pain a bit. Of course you can not be afraid of me touching you though"

She eyed him suspiciously, but couldn't help feel a tiny little twitch of longing for his touch. Hastily she pushed those thoughts aside and tried to answer him as harshly as possible.

"You're a bastard Damon. I guess this techniques acquires me having no clothes on and being under you "

"Not exactly, but if your offering I certainly wouldn't deny you the honour of sleeping with me". His smirk was as wide as she ever had seen it and his eyes was bright with mischief.

She was starting to get really annoyed and was about to ask him to leave again when the ache in her middle body once again intensified and made her whimper.

"What exactly was it you had in mind then?", she asked instead when her cramp eased a little. She could feel that she started to get pretty desperate for a cure for her pain, and really how awful could it be having Damon touch her. Not awful at all a small part of her whispered in her head, but she quickly pushed this part away and focused on Damon's answer instead.

"Well, I was thinking of giving you a deep tissue-massage. I might be able to lose up some of the muscles that are making the cramps that way. But I have to say, you have been kind of rude to me all night so I don't actually know if I'm in the mood to help you anymore.

Elena overlooked his last remark and made quickly up her mind, she was desperate wasn't she?

"If I let you do this, do you promise to behave like a gentleman ?"

"As I've ever acted in any other way", he said, his face lighted up with a innocent smile.

She just rolled her eyes again, and didn't bother to answer. She followed him with her eyes as he closed the small space between him and the bed, but when he started to crawl up in her bed her mouth dropped and she eyed him suspiciously.

"What do you think you are doing? Can't you just sit in the chair beside the bed?"

"Elena, you soon have to decide if you want me to take care of this or not. I said I would have to touch you right, and I need to sit in the correct position to get it right. You aren't going to go all prudish and maidenly on me now are you?"

To be honest, Elena didn't really think she had a choice anymore. It was either this or she had to go to the bathroom an throw up within five minutes, so she gave him a small nod to confirm her consent. He didn't waste any time and was soon sitting with his back against the headboard and mentioned to her to come and sit between his legs. She swallowed hard, but started to move toward him after a few moments hesitation. Before she settled her back against his chest she quickly grabbed a pillow and placed it where her back was going to touch him. The pillow weren't big enough though, and she could feel his hard chest against the mid of her back. She suddenly forgot all about that when she felt his arms wrap around her and bring her closer to his chest while he whispered softly in her ear.

"Try to relax Elena. I will make the pain go away before you know it".

She took a deep breath and tried to relax, the warmth sipping from his chest and arms made it easier than she cared to confess. Then his hands were on her belly, carefully pulling up her t-shirt until it rested right under the hem of her bra. Gently his hands travelled back to her belly, stroking the skin on their way, and then resting there to let her get used to the touch.

At the first touch of his hands she couldn't help the quick intake of air and the little shivers the small touch sent trough her body. He noticed her reaction but didn't say anything.

"This is going to hurt a little at first", he said instead, as he started a deep massage of her lower stomach.

At first she whimpered a little as the pain got even stronger while he massaged her, and she couldn't help it when her hand automatically shot up and clenched around his upper arm, fingers digging into the hard flesh of his arm.

"Shh, shh, Sweetheart, it will be over soon", he whispered soothingly in her ear while he continued massaging her with firm strokes, digging into the soft flesh of her belly.

Gradually, he could feel her muscles start to relax, and he registered with satisfaction that all her sign of pain were almost completely gone. He softened the strokes then and soon they were no more than featherlike touches with his fingertips. Suddenly he was very glad the pillow covered his crotch as he for the first time that night really took the time to feel the sensation of her relaxed body against his now that her pain was gone. The feel of the soft skin under his fingertips made him crave more, and he allowed one of his hands to travel up and down her arm and awaited Elena's reaction. When she didn't push him away, he let his other hand follow up her other arm. He started to massage her stiff neck and shoulders with firm but tender strokes, amazed that he let her continue.

Elena had never felt so good before. Just a couple of minutes after he had started massaging the horrible pain had faded away and her body was no left totally relaxed. Just when she thought she couldn't feel any better Damon started to rub her neck and shoulder which had been sore ever since the hole nightmare with Klaus had started several months ago. She could feel she was starting to get very sleepy and when Damon's hands started massaging her scalp and stroke her hair she let her head fall back on his chest.

Damon stroke her hair and neck until she was at the brink of unconsciousness, and then he gently tried to slip out from behind her. He didn't really know how she would react if she found him in her bed in the morning, and he didn't want to push his luck.

Before he had time to get free though he felt a soft hand grip his and Elena moan something that was impossible to hear even with his vampire hearing.

"What did you say Love", he whispered gently in her ear.

She leaned her head back a little and watched him with a teary-eyed look then.

"Please don't leave me Damon. I don't want to be alone. I cant stop thinking about…everything when I'm alone. Please don't go", she pleaded, watching him with her doe eyes filled with unshed tears.

"Shh, shh, Sweetheart, I'll stay right here. Just go to sleep", he whispered into her hair. Like he could ever leave her in this state, he knew how much she had hurt in the past months and if he could be to any comfort he would gladly do anything for her. Staying there in bed with her, with her soft body against his was hardly any big favour to ask from him.

Comforted by his answer she slowly turned in his arms so that the side of her body was resting against his chest. She nestled her head in the crock of his neck and placed her hand against his skin in the deep V he had left on the neckline of his button-down shirt.

He understood she needed the comfort and warmth from another persons skin so he unbuttoned a couple more buttons on his shirt and placed her hand over the place where his heart should have been beating if he was alive in the correct sense of the word. He let one hand stay over hers and let his other arm slip around her waist and pull her even closer. Then he reached out and grabbed a blanket and pulled it over both of them.

Elena was by now happily asleep, her slow steady breathing tickling his neck with every exhale. Damon lowered his head and pressed his nose into her hair, and with her sweet scent in his head he faded into sleep himself.


	2. Comfort in the Dark

Hello everyone!

First I like to apologize for the late update, I've had university assignments to write and had to prioritize those for a while.

As I kind of promised I have now made another one-shot and are changing "Hurt, cookies and comfort" into a collection of one-shots.

All one-shots will feature Damon taking care of Elena and help her through different situations in her life.

Some one-shots will be sweet and fluffy while others will have more angst and drama to them.

Finally I will thank you for all your kind reviews, they really do inspire me, so please keep it up:) More reviews probably means faster updates you know:)

Then all it's left to say is please read, enjoy and review:)

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><p>Elena had walked for hours and she knew that she soon wasn't going to be able to walk another step. Her feet ached, her legs were wobbly and she was extremely cold and hungry. When she had started this trip out in the wilderness of Minnesota's forests she had high hopes on finding Stefan there and persuade him to come back with her. She had gotten a tips from Sheriff Forbes that there had been a couple of animal attacks in this area and she had been sure that it had to be Stefan. With Alaric being gone on a school trip with his history students that weekend and Damon nowhere to be found and not answering his phone she had decided she couldn't waste another second and had decided to go on her own.<p>

As little as she wanted to confess it she knew by now that this had been a far to rushed and stupid idea. It was starting to get dark, her hole body ached after several hours walking and the little food she had thought of to bring was consumed hours ago. She was now shaking of fatigue and cold, and had no idea where she was. It didn't help her that her nerves were starting to get shaky in the dark and she jumped at every little sound. She knew that she was going to have to sit down soon and try to get some rest, but she was afraid the dark would get even scarier if she stopped walking.

Elena wasn't stupid, after several hours walking she had figured out that her plan, that really wasn't any plan at all, wouldn't work and after she had tumbled around with the horrible feeling of defeat for a while she had turned to return to her car. Her destiny had other plans for her tough, and after some hours walking she was trapped in the dark and soon on the brink of total exhaustion.

All she wanted by now was to lay down on the grass that covered the grounds she walked, fall asleep and wake up in her bed in the morning, realizing that this was nothing but one of the exhausting dreams she had had ever since Stefan left.

Suddenly she heard a sound to her right and stumbled to a stop to listen more carefully. This wasn't the first time that evening she had stopped to analyse a sound from the woods, but for the first time she felt the adrenaline fill her veins like melted ice, when she was sure she felt an accompanying presence to the sound. Her legs immediately felt like rubber and her breath hitched in her throat when she heard the sound again, this time closer. It sounded like something big was approaching her from her right, and she strained her eyes to see something in the nearly complete darkness.

All of a sudden things happened very quickly. In one second she got a glimpse of a huge dark shadow only meters away and in the next her survival instincts had completely taken over her body and she was running through the woods. The sound of her pulse in her ear and her gasping for air made it impossible to hear if anyone were following her, but she could still feel the presence of someone behind her as needles pricking the skin on her back.

Without thinking she tried to look over her shoulder to get a glimpse of her pursuer, but in the moment her eyes left the ground in front of her she stumbled and could feel herself flying before she met the ground with a loud thump. As her body hit the ground her forehead bumped into a rock and she couldn't stop the small yelp of pain that slipped her mouth. She could feel a dizziness fogging her thoughts and when she abruptly felt the presence of someone next to her she knew that she wouldn't be able to make much resistance and she could feel tears of helplessness and fear fill her eyes. When foreign hands took hold of her body and tried to turn her around she still made a feeble attempt to fight her way out of the grip, even though she knew it was useless. She tried to open her eyes that had been shut since she fell, but realized she was blinded by her tears and blood from the injury in her forehead. She could feel herself getting hysteric, but before she started crying uncontrollably and scream, she felt her mind slowly release itself from her body and she slipped into a thick darkness of unconsciousness.

When she slowly woke up an hour later her mind was blurry and unfocused, but it took only a couple of minutes before the nights events rushed to her memory and made her tense. Without opening her eyes that were still heavy with sleep she tried to learn as much as possible about her surroundings. She could feel she was still outside, but the warmth and sparkling sound close by indicated that she was close to a burning fire. Quickly she scanned her body for injuries, but beside from the slight headache caused by the cut in her forehead and the ache in her bruised body after the fall she couldn't find any severe damage. Even the cut in her forehead seemed to have been cleaned up since she couldn't feel the blood in her face or eyes anymore.

"So the legendary mountain climber is finally awake".

Elena's eyes snapped open at the sound of the familiar voice, and met the sight of a dark figure sitting sprawled on the ground right opposite of her.

"Damon..", she whispered, letting a quiet sigh of relief escape her dry lips.

"The very one", he replied in a tight voice that made her instantly take a closer look at him.

Her eyes scanned his face and she noticed with horror that his beautiful features was tense and radiated hostility. She felt her belly clench in dread for the upcoming retaliation. She knew she very soon was out of strength and feared a long argument, so she chose to be offensive.

"Your mad", she remarked bluntly.

"Mad? But Elena, why would I be mad? Because you are stuck on pursuing a lost case, also called my pathetic brother? Because you have gotten yourself into another suicide mission? Now, why would I be mad about that?", he replied in a voice dripping with sarcasm and a fake smirk plastered on his face.

Elena took a deep breath, feeling that tears of defeat and exhaustion wasn't far away. She had known for several hours now that coming out here had been a huge mistake, and she knew that she had nothing of impact to say to her defence.

"I'm sorry", she replied in a low and defeated voice, "I...I didn't think, okay.. I thought he was here and..", she didn't have the strength to continue and her gaze fell to the ground under his intense stare.

"Well, the only thing you found was a 300 kg black bear Sweetheart", he answered dryly.

"A bear?", she almost shrieked. She couldn't help the increasing volume in her voice and her eyes flickered around the woods nervously.

"Yeah, the bear that probably would have shredded you to pieces hadn't I arrived when I did and scared it away" , he replied with fake calmness.

The shaking in her body, caused by the coldness not even the great bonfire in front of her had managed to chase away, only intensified by his words. Despite the overwhelming feelings of fear, defeat and exhaustion that once again threatened to make her hysteric she tried to keep her voice as steady and calm as possible when she answered him.

"I'm really sorry Damon. I didn't mean for it to go this way, and I'm really thankful you saved me, but can we please talk about this in the morning? I can really need some sleep right now".

He examined her tired features and concluded she was right, she really needed some sleep. He just nodded to her, still trying to hold the massive amount of anger he felt towards her stupid actions in check. She didn't even have the energy to reply, but instantly lay down on the ground and tried to tuck her clothes that had got damp after her fall closer around herself. He watched her fall asleep almost instantly, clearly totally worn out of the days events, and he nearly felt sorry for his harshness towards her. There was not a doubt in his mind that she deserved his harsh words, but when she tossed and turned clearly trapped in an uneasy sleep, he still regretted them.

It took Damon nearly an hour to fall asleep, but he couldn't have slept more than a few minutes when he woke up by a blood schilling scream. He instantly looked over to where Elena was laying and saw her trash around with her arms and legs, clearly scared to death by something. His vampire eyes suddenly picked up the motion of a furry little animal darting toward a three nearby and disappearing amongst the leaves.

"Calm down Elena, or you'll give the poor little squirrel a heart attack ", he barked at her, afraid she was going to attract unwanted company. The poor girl didn't even seem to have heard him, her arms and legs had stopped trashing around, but instead she was curled up into a tight ball on the ground and the air was filled with the sound of heartbreaking sobs. Elena had finally given into her hysteria.

Damon momentarily softened at the sight of the broken girl in front of him, and all anger toward her evaporated the second he heard her raw sobs. He slowly closed the distance between them, careful to move as slow as possible as not to scare her.

"It's okay Elena, I'm sure the squirrel will live", he tried to joke to get her attention. He didn't expect her to laugh, but maybe get angry and try to hit him at least. When Elena didn't seem to notice him at all he started to get really afraid. He knew there was only one thing he could do then, and gently he pulled her into his arms. She made a feeble attempt of fighting him at first, frightened out of her mind and with no idea what was happening to her. He didn't let her go though, and after a few seconds she clung to him like his embrace was the only safe place on earth. Her head was buried in his chest and her hands had gripped his leather jacket and hold on like her life depended on it.

"It's okay Sweetheart, you're safe", he murmured in her ear, holding her close with one hand and gently stroking her back with the other.

Her sobs had gotten softer and farther between, but her body was still shaking violently against his and he cursed himself when he noticed how cold her small fragile body was. He should have checked on her when she was sleeping, made sure she was warm enough, but he had been to angry at her to think of it. He quickly stopped beating himself up over it though, knowing it wouldn't help either of them, and started acting fast instead.

He slowly pulled himself to his feet, Elena still in his arms, clinging to him. He carried her effortlessly closer to the fire, all the time whispering words of comfort in her ear. Her sobs had completely stilled and been replaced by gentle crying when he sat down close to the fire, placing her small frame between his legs and resting his back against a fallen tree trunk. His arms was still securely placed around her and he could feel the dampness of her clothes under his bare hands. He cautiously pulled away from her to remove her damp jacket, but Elena immediately clutched the fabric of his jacket tighter and whimpered silently, clearly afraid he was going to leave her. Her reaction made his dead heart swell with emotion and he carefully bent his head down to whisper in her ear.

"Elena , darling, I have to take off some of your wet clothes if you are going to get warmed up. Is that okay?".

After a short moment he felt a tiny nod against his chest and he gently started removing her jacket. He had to carefully break free her hands that was still fastened in a death grip on his jacket to get the piece of clothing off of her. When he had removed the jacket he noticed with concern that the sweater underneath was just as damp as the piece of clothing he'd already removed, and he knew that that was going to come off as well if she wasn't to freeze to death. Cautiously he let one hand search her back for any signs that she was wearing something underneath. He was quite certain that Elena wouldn't start acting all maidenly and push him away or anything like that, but he certainly wouldn't want it to seem like he had taken any advantages either. When he was pretty sure she would be covered after taking of her sweater, he slowly let his hands slide down her sides and take hold of the hem of the garment to pull it over her head. She surprised him with willingly holding her arms in the air while he quickly pulled it off her body and reviled a pink sports bra she was wearing underneath. Before she had the time to take down her arms he had removed his own jacket with vampire speed and gently covered her small, shaking body with it. Elena was curled up to a ball against his chest so the jacket easily covered her from shoulders to toes.

After Damon had thrown her damp clothes closer to the fire so they would be dry and ready to wear in the morning he reached under the jacket and traced a hand down her legs to make sure her jeans wasn't as wet as her other clothes had been. Luckily her jeans seemed to be dry and he repositioned his hand to rest on her bare back so he could observe the temperature of her body. He could feel that she slowly was starting to warm up, but she was still shaking slightly, and he decided to speed up the process a bit. Without thinking twice he used his spare hand to start unbuttoning his shirt, but he hadn't come far when Elena tilted her head back and looked at him with question in her red rimmed and still tear-filled eyes.

"What are you doing D'm'n", she asked in an soft and muffled voice, with a hint of worry.

He didn't like the small trace of worry in her voice. Did she really believe he would try to make the moves on her in a situation like this. He couldn't help but feel a little offended.

"Well, for the first time in history I'm actually NOT trying to seduce you, believe it or not. My first and only priority is to get you warm and that is going to go a hole lot quicker if we are skin to skin", he answered, trying to keep his voice both soft and authoritative.

Her eyes widened at his words, but he could see that she knew he was right and when she dropped her head and gave a tiny nod in consent he continued the unbuttoning of his black shirt.

Elena was a little shocked over what she had just agreed to. Yes, she had clung to him the last fifteen minutes or so, and yes, she had let him take of some of her clothes a moment ago, but she had been busy feeling hysteric and being out of her mind of fear then, and hadn't had much thought about what was happening to her other than that she felt safe in his embrace. Now that her hysteric moment was starting to pass she really felt the intimacy in the situation and she didn't know if she liked it. Her tired brain said it was wrong, but she couldn't help to feel that parts of her longed to snuggle up against his chest again, not only because of the warmth she knew she needed, but because of the safety and comfort she knew awaited her there.

When Damon was done unbuttoning his shirt he looked up and into her beautiful chocolate coloured eyes. He saw the slight hesitation and the blush that had appeared in her cheeks, but she didn't protest when he gently put pressure on the hand on her back to pull her close to his bare chest. When he put his arms around her and tightened the grip to bring her closer and give her as much warmth as he could, all her hesitation seemed to gradually melt away. Damon was amazed and happy when Elena nestled close to his bare chest, her hands and arms resting along his sides under the shirt and her head comfortably tucked under his chin, nose nuzzled under the collar of his open shirt.

Elena couldn't help but feel content in Damon's arms. She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help the feeling of security and calm that overpowered her and made her feel safe and sleepy. The cocoon consisting of Damon's thick leather jacket on one side and his warm, strong chest on the other made a warm and comfortable sleeping space and soon she lost herself to the comfortable unconsciousness of a deep sleep.

Damon who had monitored Elena's temperature and heartbeat for several minutes knew immediately when she fell asleep. He could feel her soft breath against his shoulder, and he couldn't resist to lean back a little, careful not to wake her, to watch her beautiful face while she was sleeping. Her features that was given a golden look in the soft light from the fire was relaxed and she had a tiny smile on her lips that made his heart nearly start beating again. He gently bent down and pressed his lips tenderly against her forehead, before he carefully tucked her back against his chest. He rested his chin on top of her head, watching as the fire slowly burned down until sleep finally came and captured him in a soft and welcomed darkness.


	3. Cut from a Rose

Hey again guys:)

My third one-shot is here and I hope it will satisfy the wait.

I will try to update every week from now on as long as i get reviews enough to keep me inspired:)

Please read, enjoy and review:)

Disclaimer: I dont own Vampire Diaries or any of the characters in the story. Only the plot is mine.

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><p>Elena climbed the few steps unto the porch in front of her house, several bags with groceries in her hands making her walk clumsy. She unlocked the door and quickly carried the heavy bags of food into the kitchen and put them on top of the kitchen island. When she was halfway trough clearing the different food articles out of the bags she frowned and watched the huge pile in front of her with displeasure. Really how hungry had she been when she had trawled the shelves at the supermarket, she was quite sure she could open her own little store with all this food in front of her. She let out a little sigh and started clearing away chocolate chip cookies, several cans of soda and a bunch of other grocery articles that still filled the space of the countertop. She was embarrassed to know that half of the food probably would go bad since she was going to be home alone for the hole weekend. Alaric was taking some well-deserved days of vacation at a friends cabin and Jeremy had announced yesterday that he and Bonnie was going to a concert in Richmond and wouldn't be home before Sunday evening.<p>

In a way she was happy she was going to have the house all to herself for the weekend. She hadn't wanted to remind her brother since he had seemed so genuinely happy when he had told her about his plans with Bonnie, but today was actually the one year anniversary of their parents death. Elena had to confess that the thought of be able to sulk over old photo albums and cry her eyes out without hiding from worried stares from her fellow house inhabitants didn't feel so bad.

When all the groceries finally was cleared away, she started to wrap the paper of a bouquet of roses she had purchased for the occasion. Her father had used to buy her mother a bouquet of flowers every weekend and yellow roses had been her mothers favourite. Elena had many good memories of her mother smiling while placing the flowers in a crystal vase on the coffee table, and for the weekend she wanted to follow that tradition to celebrate their memory. Her fingertips slowly stroked the soft petals of the roses before she bent down and found the crystal vase in a cabinet under the sink. She could feel her eyes already starting to get watery so she quickly filled the vase with water and placed the beautiful flowers in it.

Before she had the time to be completely blinded by her tears she moved to the living room to put the vase on the coffee table. She was just about to walk past the TV-station when one of her feet got tangled up in on of the wires to Jeremy's Playstation. On the impact the vase slipped from her hands and exploded into thousands of tiny pieces on the floor, before she followed and landed on the floor with a muffled scream. When she recovered from the surprise a few seconds later she felt a terrible pain from the front of her body and she realized she had landed on a carpet full of tiny glass pieces that was cutting themselves into her skin. She let out a loud whimper when half her body started to sting and she could feel blood starting to sip into her clothes.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?", a familiar voice sounded from the entry between the hallway and the living room.

Elena had been to busy with the current situation to notice that someone had come in through the front door and winced when the dark haired vampire suddenly stood in front of her.

"Damon…I tripped…you must leave…all the blood…ohh, my mothers vase", she blurted out incoherently in a voice laced with panic.

Even though Damon didn't understand much of what she had just said he quickly understood what had happened in the Gilbert's living room, and bent down to examine the consequences.

"Elena, I can handle myself, trust me. You seem to have made quite a mess her so please let me help you out, okay?"

Quite frankly Elena knew she needed the help so she just whispered a silent _okay _and didn't flinch when Damon slowly inched closer to her body that still laid sprawled on the floor.

"Elena, it is very important you don't move", he told her seriously while he was roughly estimating the extent of her injuries. He could see she had lost a little blood but he didn't think the amount would be severe if he quickly stopped the bleeding

Damon knew he had to move Elena with utter delicacy if the glass pieces wasn't to dig even deeper into her vulnerable skin. In slow movements he moved to stand over her, on foot carefully placed on each side of her body. He could hear her heartbeat was quick and her breathing shallow, and he knew with hurtful certainty that she was in great pain. Gently he placed his hands under her arms and slowly started pulling her body upward and towards him to avoid the glass to cut deeper into her soft flesh. When she finally stood straight with her back against his chest he quickly placed one of her arms around his neck while he bent down and carefully grabbed her legs so he had her bridal style in his arms. She made a sound of surprise and looked at him with wide eyes, but didn't have the time to say anything before he spoke.

"Easy Elena, you know you're in no condition to walk on your own yet and besides you're not wearing shoes and the floor is covered in glass as you very well know", he said before she could protest at the intimate position they were in. "I'm going to carry you to your room now, so please lie as still as possible. You still got a lot of glass pieces stuck in your clothes and hair", he continued, before he easily started climbing the stair to the second floor , she appearing as nothing more as a feather in his arms.

When they reached her bedroom he gently placed her in her desk chair. He didn't want to get blood or glass in her bed, so he quickly grabbed a big towel from the bathroom and covered her bed with it before he helped her lay down on her back on the bed. She tried to be as brave as she could, but she couldn't stop tiny whimpers of pain slipping out of her mouth and when she met his gaze she could see it was filled with worry. She tried not to revile in that discovery, but couldn't help feeling extremely touched by his obvious concern for her.

"I'll have to remove the glass that is stuck in your skin. I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt a bit", he told her, gaze still looked with hers to monitor her expressions.

She just gave him a small nod in agreement, she knew this was going to hurt, it hurt like crazy already. Suddenly he started pulling gently at the bottom of her top and her eyes widened in surprise again.

"Ohh, come on Elena", Damon exclaimed impatiently, "you know I cant do this with your clothes on, and we really haven't got the time to argue, your losing more blood by the minute"

Elena knew that time was limited, and she also knew that she didn't have anyone else to help her. Weirdly enough she also felt safe with Damon, especially in a crisis, and she knew he never would take advantage of her in a situation like this. She wasn't very kin on telling him that though and gave him a exasperated look and a small nod instead to make him know he had her permission to continue. He didn't waste any time and carefully started removing her bloodstained top. When he had pulled the top over her head and she was left in her white cotton bra, she tried to reach down and unbutton her jeans herself, but quickly stopped in the act when several wounds hurt in protest and fresh blood started trickle down her belly. She laid back on her bed with a sigh of annoyance and was startled when she felt gentle hands touch the skin of her belly as they unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans and slowly started pulling them down her long legs. Elena tried to hide both her surprise and the tiny shivers the intimate touch sent though her body, but she didn't know if she succeeded in either. Luckily Damon acted like the perfect gentleman today and quickly grabbed a blanket from the end of the bed and placed it so it covered her most private area from her hips to her upper thighs.

Even though Damon had quickly covered her most crucial area he couldn't help getting a far to good glimpse of her sweet undergarment, white cotton covered with red and pink flowers. He immediately felt an unmistakable heat surge through his body, but ignored it as best as he could while continuing taking care of her injuries. It wasn't easy ignoring her body though. He had found a pair of tweezers and had carefully started to remove a glass piece just above her knee, he knew it was wrong but he couldn't help reviling in the soft feel of her skin against the hand that was holding her leg steady. He forcefully pushed all other feelings than concern away, knowing that he had to be a 100% present focused on his task to make it go quicker and hopefully less painful.

Elena felt her face get warm and knew she probably was flushed red from her chest to her hair roots. Damon worked fast and precise and had already pulled out all the glass from her legs and arms, but even though he worked in a haste she couldn't help to feel that he left tingles in her skin wherever his hands lingered for a moment. She tried to suppress all the confusing feelings and started focusing on her body instead. She tried to move her arms and legs a little, testing how much she could bend and stretch them before the pain grew to fierce, and was displeased when it turned out she couldn't move them much at all.

"You have to lie still Elena", Damon murmured warningly, "It's soon over, just this last piece on your belly left"

Damon gently removed the last piece of glass that had been stuck in her skin near her bellybutton. A small stream of blood trickled from the wound and pooled on her lower belly. He tried to not breath that much as not to be tempted by her sweet-smelling blood, but he found it surprisingly easy to keep those desires in check. His libido on the other hand was under a dreadful strain.

"Okay, I think that was it", Damon said lowly, looking her body over, partly to check her for further injuries and partly to memorize the picture of her beautiful body.

Elena wriggled a little uncomfortably and wondered if she should tell Damon about the terrible stinging she had felt for a while just below her hipbone , a part of her that was covered by the blanket. She could try to remove it herself afterwards, but she wasn't quite sure she would be able to reach the spot by herself in her condition. After wrestling with her thoughts for a short while and earning herself a questioning look from Damon she chose to come clean.

"Actually I...I think you have missed one" she blurted out, feeling her face getting uncomfortably warm.

Damon looked her over again and gave her another questioning look.

"It's here", Elena tried to point to her left hip with a slightly shaking hand, "right bellow my….my hipbone"

Damon gently tugged down the blanket until he reached the hem of her underwear and spotted a piece of glass cut deep into her smooth flesh there. He carefully placed a hand on her hip to steady her while he pulled the glass out of the wound. Elena couldn't help a shiver running through her body and a small sigh slip past her lips while he touched her, half of pain and half of something else she didn't want to identify.

"Okay", Damon started speaking after he had remove the last piece of glass, "unless you hide something else under that blanket of yours, I suggest I help you into the bathroom so we can get your wounds cleaned up"

"I'm sure I will be able to clean them myself Dam..", she started saying, but quickly got interrupted by a pretty impatient vampire.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure you could my dear Elena, but I'm still going to help you since your blood loss probably will make you a little dizzy and I don't want to nurse you after you got a concussion by hitting your head in your bathroom floor", he said with a voice that made little room for argument.

Elena let out an exasperated sigh before she clumsily tried to get of the bed. The moment she got to her feet she started swaying a bit and Damon was there in an instant and put a supporting arm around her shoulders. He helped her into her bathroom and let her steady herself against the countertop while he was looking in the medicine cabinet for antiseptics and bandages.

When Damon had found what he was looking for in the medicine cabinet in addition to a washcloth and a small towel he placed it next to where Elena was leaning on the countertop and all of a sudden he was standing right in front of her. Elena gasped when he suddenly gently slipped his arms around her before he carefully lifted her and placed her on the countertop. She felt a strong dizziness fogging her mind and didn't know how much come from the blood loss or how much come from the fact that Damon was close enough to make her smell his sweet scent of leather and cologne.

"Are you okay Elena", she heard Damon's worried voice near her ear.

At that moment Elena realized that her hands had shot up and was grabbing Damon's shoulders in an iron grip. Damon's hands was still on her waist, and he was making small soothing circles with his thumps on her skin.

"Yeah, I'm fine", she managed to press out of her dry mouth, "just a little bit dizzy I think. I'm better now"

Elena let go of Damon's shoulders and with a worried look in his eyes Damon started to clean the blood of her arms, legs and belly with the wet washcloth. While Damon was cleaning her wounds and applying the antiseptics she rested her back against the bathroom wall and closed her eyes, trying not to register all the disturbing feelings that rushed through her body one after the other. She had to admit though that parts of her enjoyed the intimacy and the feeling of be taken care of. It had been so long since someone had cared for her, hold her or even touched her in a comforting way, and she felt the overwhelming need for all of that now. She suddenly realized that she often craved for that kind of intimacy when she was around Damon and that discovery made her frown her brows thoughtfully. She allowed herself to think about these feelings a little while, but was soon disturbed by a strong sense of guilt. For a moment she wrestled with her confusing thoughts before she felt exhausted and decided to press all the disturbing feelings out of her head, at least until she was on her own.

Damon had his eyes glued to Elena's face while he nursed her and he could see a kaleidoscope of unidentifiable feeling cross her beautiful features in the matter of seconds. He truly wondered what she was thinking about, but when her facial features and body got tense and her heart rate increased he feared that the pain had gotten worse and stopped his cleaning for a moment.

"How are you Elena? Do you need anything for the pain", he asked, his voice laced with honest concern.

"Hmm….oh the pain. Yes, I could need some painkillers if you could fetch them for me", she answered, hoping that he wouldn't suspect it was anything else than pain that had gotten her silent and thoughtful a moment ago.

When Damon went to get her the painkillers she noticed that se hadn't lied when she said she needed them. Now that her thoughts was back to the presence she felt that most of her body was sore and aching, and to top it of she felt a strong headache approaching as well. Damon was soon back with her painkillers and a glass of water, and she hurriedly gulped them down while Damon was watching her tentatively. When she was done, Damon washed the last wound and started cover them up with gauze and bandage. For every wound he covered he blew air on it to sooth it, and Elena could feel tingles in her skin and involuntary shivers run up and down her spine at the action. After a while she felt the pain gradually disappear and she started to get utterly relaxed and sleepy under the gentle hands that was nursing her so tentatively.

"Okay, I think I have managed to patch you back together again pretty nicely", Damon said when the last bandage around her wrist was applied. He surprised her by lifting the hand he had applied bandage to a moment ago and kissing her wrist gently. She relived in the sweet gesture and couldn't help a small sigh escaping her lips.

Damon opened the eyes he had closed while kissing her and examined her face. She looked exhausted and tired and he decided it was about time to get her in bed. He had noticed a pyjama-shorts and a tank top on a chair in the bathroom and she willingly let him dress her in them before he lifted and carried her to her bed. He laid her gently on the soft mattress and pulled the warm covers up around her. She moved on her side so she was facing him and he kneeled down so he could whisper to her, not wanting to pull her out of her sleepy state.

"I'm going to stay in the chair by your bed tonight Elena. I don't think your wounds are severe, but I will stay to make sure, just in case", he told her lowly close to her ear.

She opened her heavy eyelids and watched his face for a moment. His beautiful ocean blue eyes were soft and warm and his features seemed relaxed and calm now that her injuries was taken care of and she knew he was glad he had been there to take care of her. She couldn't help reaching out her hand and stroke his face while she whispered a silent _thank you_. He immediately leaned into her touch and placed a small tender kiss in her palm. They stayed like that for a while before Elena spoke.

"You can lay in the bed if you want to", she whispered sleepily.

"Do you want me to?", he asked her in the softest voice she had ever heard from him.

She stared into his eyes and nodded silently, a tiny smile lingering on her lips. He couldn't resist stroking her soft cheek tenderly at her reply, before he straightened up and started undressing himself. He slipped out of his shoes and shirt and walked to the other side of the bed before he slowly slipped under the cover and lay next to her. She had his back to him and he inched closer until he was close enough to smell the sweet scent of her hair, but still far enough to give her space if she wanted it. Elena didn't seem to like the space though, and slowly inched backwards until she could feel the heat radiating of his lean body. Damon took the hint and silently closed the little distance between them until his chest was pressed against her back and their legs was touching. They fit perfectly together and he slowly slipped an arm around her waist under the cover so he gently, as not to disturb her wounds, could pull her closer to him. She took hold of his hand and laced their fingers together, relishing in the feeling of safeness and satisfaction that overwhelmed her with his presence so close. His nose was in her hair and his lips near her ear when he quietly whispered to her a moment later.

"Who was the flowers from? An admirer?", he asked playfully, but with a hint of seriousness.

Elena chuckled slightly before she responded.

"Technically they was from me to my mom. Today was the one year anniversary of my parents death and since my dad always bought my mother a bouquet of roses every weekend I thought I would do the same", she said in a sleepy voice, surprised of how easy it was to tell Damon this.

"I'm sorry", she heard him whisper in her ear, and it sounded like he truly meant it.

He pulled her a little closer and pressed a small kiss to her shoulder, and she sighed in contentment. She felt the sleep starting to pull her into a sweet darkness, and her last thought before she fell asleep in Damon's arms was that she never would have thought this day could bring anything good, but her gloomy forebodings had proven to be wrong in a way she hadn't imagined possible. At the end of the day she felt safe, loved and cared for, and all because of the dark haired vampire that was laying next to her and holding her like he never would let go.

The next day she woke up alone in her bed and she immediately started thinking that it all had been a dream. She had to reconsider that when she felt the ache in her body and saw the bandages that covered her in several placed. She stumbled out of bed and in to her bath room where she got dressed and gulped down a few painkillers before she went down to clean up the mess she had made the day before. When she come into the living room she gasped of surprise. Everything was neat and clean, no glass or blood on the floor, and in general now signs of the unfortunate accident the day before. Her gaze floated to the coffee table and froze. There, in a crystal vase very similar to her mothers, was a huge bouquet of beautiful roses in full bloom. She stepped closer and let her fingers caress the soft petals while her face crackled up in a genuine smile. The roses were beautifully white, snow-white.

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><p>Thank you so much for reading:) Please remember to review:)<p> 


	4. Sweet Broken Angel

Hello everyone!

My fourth one-shot is here and I hope you all will enjoy it:)

I'm not quite sure I'm pleased with it myself so I really would want to know what you guys think about it.

I want to thank everyone that has favorited, reviwed or simply read my stories, if it wasn't for you I woudn't have the motivation to wright this stories, so thank you:)

As always please read, enjoy and review:)

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries or any of the characters in this story. Only the plot is mine.

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><p>Elena was laying on her back on the bed in her room, watching the ceiling with an empty look. Her eyes was red rimmed and blank and witnessed about her severely low state of mind. Ever since Stefan had left with Klaus to pay for his brothers life it had been hard to get out of bed in the mornings, but somehow she had been managing to cope. The last couple of weeks had been different though. She knew she had been piling up emotions for months and after a terrible incident nearly two weeks ago everything had changed.<p>

Elena had been on her way home from the Grill after a sorely needed "normal" girls night out with Bonnie and Caroline when the horrible event had taken place. She had barely reached out of the door and in to the street when she was approached by a group of three guys her own age, clearly drunk out of their minds. Without looking at the guys she had tried to make herself as little noticeable as possible when she was about to pass them, but one of them had immediately caught sight of her and started snuffling nasty comments to her. The two other guys had quickly accompanied him, and before she could do anything, one of them had grabbed hold of her and smashed her violently into the wall of the building. She had whimpered on the impact, but she had been quickly stopped from making any other sounds when a hand covered mouth.

Desperately, she had tried to fight them, but the guys in spite of their drunkenness was surprisingly strong and steady on their legs. When she had gotten a better glimpse of them she thought she had recognised at least two of them from the football team at her high school and she had known there was no way she could fight or outrun them. The moment she understood she was completely helpless in their rough grip she had started crying desperately, but the guys hadn't noticed at all, they were far to busy roaming their groping hands all over her body and pulling at her clothes while they grunted disgusting remarks at her. At the same time one of the boys had gotten his hands under her top and was reaching for her breasts and another was stroking his hands up her thighs the boys was startled by a group of people streaming out of the door from the Grill. Luckily they seemed to have come to the conclusion that the temptation wasn't worth the risk of getting caught and had hurriedly drawn back their hand before they vanished down the street, leaving Elena in a heap on the cold asphalt where she had collapsed when they had let go of her. After a couple of minutes in a near shock-like state, Elena had tumbled to her car and had in one way or the other managed to drive home without getting into a car crash. At the time she had reached her house she was all out of tears and instead filled with a feeling of total emptiness. She hardly remembered she had reached her room without running into Alaric and Jeremy and had spent about and hour scrubbing her skin raw in the shower before she had curled up into a tight ball in her bed and out of sheer exhaustion fallen into an uneasy sleep.

In the following days and weeks the incident seemed to have become the last straw on her already overworked nerves and she had hardly slept or eaten in days. School had been a nightmare. She was totally unable to concentrate in any of her classes and if anyone touched her, including her closest friends, she would get startled and wince. One time Tyler had appeared behind her and clapped her on the back while she was trying to have a normal conversation with Caroline, and she had nearly jumped in the air of fear and quickly excused herself and left before any of them could see the tears in her eyes.

Now she was laying on her bed and wondering if any of her friends had noticed her weird behaviour lately. Non of them had asked why she was so tired and distant lately or why she had spent so much time to herself the last couple of weeks, but she had seen some concerned looks when they thought she wasn't looking. She was far away in her thought and would probably have missed the sudden gust of air and the new presence in the room hadn't her senses been hypersensitive lately. In one second she was half past the room and pressing her back against the opposite wall.

"I know I'm a vampire, but I didn't think I was that scary. Good to know I still got it", the dark haired man laying lazily on her bed commented with a smirk on his handsome face.

"Damon…what are you doing here?", was all she managed to reply while trying to still her thunderous heartbeat.

"Isn't a guy allowed to make a surprise visit to a friend at 11 o'clock in the evening any longer?", he said with a fake pout plastered on his face, "you should be glad to get a visit from such a irresistible stud a late evening"

Usually Elena would have rolled her eyes and snorted at the cocky comment, but today she didn't feel a hint like herself and she involuntary pressed her back tighter against the wall instead. Her heart rate wouldn't calm down and her eyes flickered anywhere except at the man occupying her bed. She tried to calm down, but the shock she had gotten when Damon suddenly appeared in her room combined with all her bottled-up emotions the last weeks, probably months, where making her sight foggy with tears she was desperately trying to hide.

Damon intently watched her features. He easily heard her thundering heartbeat and her shallow breath, and he knew she was fighting against her tears. There where no surprise showing on his features though, this hadn't been a courtesy visit, he knew something was wrong before he came over and he was determined not to leave before she had spilled her guts to him.

"You've been avoiding me dear Elena", he said when she didn't speak, "Witchy and Vampire Barbie tells me you've been pretty distant lately too. Care to enlightened me why you suddenly is so tired of all your friends that you prefer the solitude of your room instead of their company?"

Elena's head snapped up at his question and watched him with a look that was filled with fear and something close to panic. He could see her eying the door out of the corner of her eye and her body tensed up as if ready to run from him. In that moment he understood that something terrible must have happened to her and he quickly rushed over to her with vampire speed so he could stop her attempt at escaping before it took place. When he suddenly was standing right in front of her Elena breath hitched in fear and she pressed her body as close to the wall as she could get it, pressing her cheek to the side and against the wall so he couldn't see her eyes. Damon tried to reach up a hand and turn her face towards him, but she winced so violently that he dropped his hand to his side before it even touched her skin.

"Okay Elena, I understand something horrible must have happened to you and I need you to tell me what it is. I promise I won't try to touch you or even look at you if you don't want me to, but please tell me what's wrong with you", he asked in an almost pleading voice.

She finally turned and looked at him then. Her eyes was filled with unshed tears and she seemed so exhausted and weary that he ached to pull her close and comfort her, but he knew he had to keep his promise if she was going to tell him anything.

"They tried to take advantages of me...they tried to… ", her voice trailed of before a heartbreaking sob ripped trough the air and she started crying violently.

"Who did what to you Elena? Please tell me?", his voice was near desperate and his heart felt like it was ripped out of his chest at seeing her this broken and not be able to comfort her.

"They tried to rape me…I don't now who they are…but they were scared away…and…and I can still feel their hands on my skin…and…I'm so scared", she managed to choke out between sobs, her body trembling violently with all the emotions rushing trough her.

Even though her speech were incoherent Damon immediately knew what had happened to her, and he could feel an enormous amount of anger tear at his insides at the thought of what those bastards could have done to her if they had gotten the opportunity. With a massive amount of willpower only decades of training could produce he suppressed all his anger, knowing it wouldn't help her in her current situation. He could track down her attackers later and learn them some basic manners, but right now he had to take care of the trembling girl in front of him. He very slowly took a step closer to her, still not touching her, but trying to make her used to his close presence. When she didn't wince at his closeness he tentatively raised his hands and placed them carefully on her shoulders, squeezing them lightly. She didn't try to push him away, but he heard her heartbeat pick up speed and felt her muscles tense under his light touch, and he cursed inwardly when he really understood how much damage the terrible experience had done to her. She had become terrified of people, even her closest friends, and she avoided touch as it burned her skin.

"Shh Elena, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you", he whispered to her, feeling very weird about uttering such a obvious statement, but he knew she needed to hear it.

Finally Elena turned her face to his so he could see tear marks down her cheeks and unshed tears lingering in the corners of her eyes. His dead heart ached for her then and he knew he wouldn't be able to leave her before he had taught her to receive comfort again. Even if it would take him the rest of eternity he would make her trust other people and make that scared look on her face disappear for good. Still holding her gaze he inched closer to her until they were close enough that he could feel the warmth radiating of her body. He slowly bent his head and let his cheek lightly graze hers while he whispered in her ear.

"Elena dear, you trust me don't you?", he asked her softly.

He could hear she was crying silently and he fought the desire to wrap his arms around her and hold her, he knew he had to wait until she came to him. Finally he felt a small nod against his cheek and he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. Carefully he let the hands on her shoulders stroke up and down her upper arms before he slid them down and gently opened her fisted hands so he could hold them in his. They stood like that for some time, while she cried and finally started relaxing against his body. He couldn't help letting out a relived sigh when she after a while started leaning her body against his and slowly disentangled their hands so she could reach up and fold her arms around his neck. He momentarily accepted her unsaid invitation and carefully wrapped his arms around her small fragile frame, relishing in the feeling of finally be able to comfort her.

They stayed like that for a long while, Elena with her arms folded tight around Damon's neck and face pressed into his chest, and Damon with his arms securely wrapped around her. Damon stroke her back gently the whole time and when she had stopped crying and seemed a little calmer he carefully bent down and grabbed her legs so he could carry her to her bed. She didn't protest when he lifted her or carried her to her bed, but she did protest feebly when he released her after laying her down.

Elena didn't like the sudden emptiness she felt when Damon released her from his warm arms. For weeks she had jumped when people had brushed up against her accidentally, but it was something different with Damon's touch, she felt safe in his arms. She watched him tentatively while he sat down next to her on the bed, she wasn't afraid anymore, she knew he would never hurt her. After weeks of fear she was surprised she missed his touch and wanted him to hold her again.

"Elena, could you do something for me?", he suddenly asked in a low and soft voice. When she nodded he continued, "can you close your eyes for me?"

Elena felt tiny stabs of fear at the request, but she quickly calmed down as Damon locked gaze with her and she could see how soft and caring his eyes looked at her. She took a deep breath then and nodded silently before she slowly closed her eyes. When she after a short moment felt a touch to her cheek she tensed up slightly, but when she felt how soft and caring the hand was stroking her skin she relaxed and lightly pressed her cheek against it. She could feel Damon slowly bending over her and she didn't wince when he gently started to whisper in her ear.

"I know you have seen and felt much violence in your life Elena, but you cant let that make you scared of people and their touch. You must understand that touch mustn't be about violence or even lust", he gently whispered to her while stroking her cheek tenderly. "I want to show you that touch doesn't have to be about any of those things. I want you to associate touch with this", he murmured, stroking her ear gently.

Damon could hear her heart rate increase a little at his touch, but he knew instinctively that it wasn't from fear, and he felt his own body relax a little watching her calm under his hands. He had hated what she had said about feeling those bastards hands on her skin and he wanted to erase all those memories from her mind with his own soft touches.

After stroking her hair and face for a while he let his fingers brush down her neck and stroke her collarbone, his other hand reaching out and stroking her arm and shoulder. Elena felt tiny shivers of pleasure run up and down her spine at his featherlike touches and she could feel her body for the first time in weeks relax. She couldn't help the small sigh of contentment that left her lips when Damon's gentle hands skimmed down her sides and brushed her belly. Damon didn't stop before he had stroked most of her body from head to toes, and when he after a long and wonderful time returned to her face, she opened her eyes slowly to find him leaning over her and watching her tentatively. For a moment they just looked deeply into each others eyes while Damon's fingers gently brushed her temple.

"Damon?", Elena whispered after a long time in silence.

"Yes, Angel?", he whispered back, stroking his fingers trough the silky hair at her temple.

"Could you do me a favour? One of the guys kissed me, and I really don't want him to be the last one that kissed me, so I was wondering if you could…", she asked, looking shyly into his ocean blue eyes.

Damon couldn't believe she had asked him what she had just did, and he tentatively searched her eyes for any signs of regret or misunderstanding. When he couldn't find any he slowly bent down, giving her plenty of time to move away, before he gently touched her lips with his own. The kiss was not passionate or lustful, like a kiss shared by lovers. Their kiss was slow and gentle, and would have seemed chaste to most people, but it was filled with so much caring and love that it was by far the best kiss both of them had ever had.

When they finally pulled away Damon reached down to the end of the bed and grabbed a blanket he carefully draped over the sleepy girl next to him. The clock had already reached past 1am, and Elena had a hard time holding her eyes open after days of uneasy sleep. Damon's tentative gestures had made her whole body relaxed and she knew that she would sleep soundly for the first time in a long while. They lay on their sides facing each other, and after Damon had given her a tender goodnight kiss on the forehead, she got gently carried away into a deep sleep, still holding one of his hands firmly in hers.

After Elena had fallen asleep, Damon stayed awake to watch her relaxed face. Her features were so beautiful now that they weren't tensed with fear and pain. Ten minutes later she reached out in her sleep and grabbed hold of him, snuggling her body closer to his. He happily put his arms around her and pulled her closer. Her head lay nestled on his chest and when he bent down to kiss her lightly on her cheek, he saw she was wearing a satisfied little smile on her lips. He stilled in the motion and watched her with awe in his eyes, she looked exactly like a sleeping angel.

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><p>Thanks for reading:) Please remember to review:)<p> 


	5. Little Dream Catcher

Hello everyone!

So, my fifth chapter is here, and I really hope you are going to enjoy it:)

I had a little problem writing this one so I'm really looking forward to hear what you guys are thinking about it. Please let me know:)

As always please read, enjoy and review:)

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries or any of the characters in this story. Only the plot is mine.

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><p>Elena was running. Her pulse was pounding loud in her ears and her every inhale of air burned like acid in her lungs. She didn't know where she was, everywhere she looked she could only see darkness. Tears of fear and exhaustion was lingering in her sore eyes, but she refused to let them fall. In the distance she could her screams, screams of heart wrecking fear and terror. She feared the sound might make her mad and tried to cover her ears while she was running, but that only made her loose control of her feet and she tripped and fell to the ground with a scream.<p>

Elena was quickly back on her feet, the huge amount of adrenaline in her veins and pure terror keeping her from realizing her wrist had been slashed open by a rock and several other wounds was making her clothes damp with blood. Her body was completely worn out, but she could feel the presence of something terrible behind her and pure survival instinct kept her running. As far as her eyes could see she could only see forest, only trees and rocks. Elena was trying to look over her shoulder to get a glimpse of what horrible creature was pursuing her, but when her eyes returned to the space in front of her she gasped in surprise. There ten meters ahead, as evaporated out of thin air, was a mountainside as steep and smooth as an unbreakable stonewall. She had run herself into the perfect trap. There where no more places to run, no more places to hide, she could do nothing else than turn her back against the solid stonewall and await her pursuer.

The dark seemed to grow thicker around her and her heart beat so fast it was painful in her chest. Her eyes widened when a slim silhouette suddenly appeared against the dark in front of her. She held her breath while the person walked out of the shadows and into the weak light of a clouded moon. Elena watched the person in front of her and swore she felt her heart stop beating.

"Stefan?", she whispered to the beautiful, green-eyed vampire standing in front of her, face glowing in the soft moonlight.

He walked towards her with his usual sweet smile on his lips and she immediately started relaxing at the sight of his familiar features and movements. He reached her and looked down at her with love in his eyes while stroking her cheek tenderly. Her body leaned tiredly against his, her mind peaceful with the sudden change of circumstances.

"Your hurt Elena", Stefan suddenly murmured into her hair, "let me take a look at it"

Elena could for the first time that night feel the terrible stinging in her wrist and the ache in her body and trustingly reached out her hand so Stefan could take a look at her bleeding wrist.

"I'm so sorry you got hurt Elena", he said softly, "I shall take the pain away, okay?"

Elena didn't quite understand what he meant and stared at him with a puzzled look in her eyes. Then, right before her eyes, her handsome boyfriends face changed into the features of a murderous animal. His eyes turned blood-red with black veins prominent around them and long canines glistened in the dim light when his lips pulled back in an animalistic snarl. She could hear her own scream fill the dark night before the love of her life leaped for her throat and sank his teeth deeply into her vulnerable skin.

Everything went dark. Her sight was completely lost to her, but the tearing pain in her neck and the animalistic growls that filled her ears painted a clear picture of what was happening to her. She slowly felt herself starting to loose contact with her body and drift into a deep darkness, when she heard something that didn't seem to fit into the horrible picture. Someone was calling her name in a urgent and worried tone. The gentle voice seemed to come straight trough the darkness that rapidly was wrapping around her, and she let herself fall into it without second thought.

Elena's eyes snapped open and she stared straight into ocean blue eyes filled with an equal amount of concern and relief. She took a quick look around while trying to calm her heart that was still beating painfully against her ribcage, and recognised the familiar features of the boarding house parlour. It had all been on of her terrible nightmares that had haunted her for months after Stefan left. Her gaze returned to the man in front of her that was holding her shoulders in a tight grip and watching her face tentatively. His black hair was messy and his chest bare and witnessed that he had been sleeping a short while ago.

Damon had been terrified out of his mind when he had been woken by Elena's heart wrecking scream a moment ago and rushed to her side within seconds. He had found her trashing around on the couch she had felt asleep on a couple of hours earlier when they had been talking about new ways of finding Stefan and he had desperately tried to waken her from what must have been a horrible nightmare. For several minutes he had called her name with different amount of urgency and finally she had opened her eyes and watched him with both fear and relief showing on her angelic face.

"Are you okay?", he asked her quietly, trying to hide some of the worry in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine Damon", she said, trying to act braver then she felt at the moment. She quickly pulled out of his grip on her, needing the space to get her composure back.

"Soo, Sleeping Beauty had a little bad dream hadn't she?", Damon said, some of his cocky manner sipping into his features to lighten the mood a bit.

When he received a cushion in the head as a reply he smirked and was pretty pleased with himself. He could still hear her heart beat wildly though, and he saw deep in her eyes that she was truly shaken by her dream and he felt the unmistakeable need to comfort her as he always did when she was sad or scared.

"Would you like to talk about it", he asked seriously, monitoring her features to read her expressions.

"No, not really Damon", she answered while standing up and watching her clock. It was half past twelve at night, but she doubted she would be able to sleep anymore that night, her body still felt tingly and alert with the adrenaline the dream had produced.

Damon watched her and knew she was putting on a brave face, he could practically smell the fear in her bloodstream and he knew he had to do something to help her. He had seen her weary look lately and he doubted this was the first night she had been kept awake by her vivid unconscious mind.

"Come here", he said softly but with a hint of authority in his voice, placing a hand on her back to guide her to the kitchen.

"What is it Damon? I really should be going home. Its late", she answered, but was to exhausted to resist the hand that was pushing her forwards.

"Well, for starters you are not going home tonight, its way to late and I don't trust your driving skills in the dark" He could see she was about to protest, but spoke again before she had time to start to argue. "First I'm going to make you something hot to drink and then I'm going to take care of those scratches on your face and neck that you has inflicted on yourself in your sleep"

Elena self-consciously reached up and felt the sore marks on her cheek and neck and when she lowered her hand she could see she had traces of blood underneath her fingernails. She must have scratched herself when she was fighting against Stefan in her dream. The thought of her nightmare made tears appear in her eyes, and she knew Damon had noticed when his hand gently started to rub up and down her back while they were walking towards the kitchen. When they reached their destination Damon led her to the kitchen counter where he gently grabbed her waist and lifted her effortlessly up on the countertop. Elena had just enough time to feel the unmistakeable feeling of safety that always soothed her when Damon was around to take care of her and her mind immediately eased a little.

Elena rested her head against the kitchen cabinet and tried to relax to the soothing sound of Damon rattling with kitchenware while he was making her something to drink. She closed her eyes and felt her muscles unwind and her heart beat in a calm pace and was a little surprised when she started to feel a tiny bit sleepy again. Suddenly she felt a light touch to her knee, designed as not to scare her, and she opened her eyes to find Damon standing in front of her with a steaming cup with contents she wasn't able to see in the dimly lit room.

"What is it?", she asked, realizing she hadn't paid any attention to what Damon had been mixing together by the stove.

"AB negative, heated just for you Darling. Usually makes me very sleepy", he answered while giving her a mischievous wink with his eyes.

Elena's eyes widened in surprise and horror, and that made the only half dressed vampire in front of her let out an amused chuckle.

"Oh, calm down Elena", he said with laughter in his voice, "I know were not on the exactly same diet. Its just hot milk with honey, perfect to make little humans like you calm and sleepy", he continued while patting her knee playfully.

Elena gave him an ugly look, but excepted the hot cup he was offering her. While she took the first seep of the hot drink and relished in the sweetness that met her tongue, Damon sped off at vampire speed and fetched a first aid kit from one of the bathrooms upstairs. Damon was right back in front of her before she had taken her third seep and was searching through the first aid kit to find antiseptics and cotton pads to apply it with.

When Damon had found what he was looking for he gently pulled her legs apart so he could step in closer to her and get a better angle to treat the long scratch marks on her throat. He slowly gathered her chestnut hair and pulled it over her other shoulder, taking the time to casually slid his fingers through the silky soft strands. After applying some antiseptic on a cotton pad he started stroking it over the slightly bloody trails that was covering the smooth skin on the right side of her neck. He couldn't help to relieve a little in the situation of having her so close and so calm and complying under his hands. The closeness made him feel the soothing warmth from her body and her sweet scent enveloped him and made him dizzy with need of being even closer.

Elena had closed her eyes and was once again resting her head against the cabinet behind her, the combination of the hot drink in her belly and the heat of Damon's lean body close to her making her calm and sleepy. When Damon started stroking the wounds on her neck and cheek with the cotton pad she winced a little at the slight stinging, but when the pain quickly faded away she enjoyed the soft strokes against her skin and leaned lightly into it. Her thoughts started to drift of and she winced again when images from her dream suddenly appeared in her head and shattered her peaceful state of mind. With her sudden uneasy thoughts followed a great need for comfort and she could feel she instinctively pressed her legs tighter against Damon's waist. Damon must have sensed her discomfort, cause he immediately reached out with his spare hand and let it rest on her waist, making small soothing circles there with his thumb. Elena let out a tiny sigh of relief and whished for a moment that she could just reach out and fold her arms around his neck and bring him close to her. She felt a need to have his arms around her and feel his strong body under her hands so she could feel completely and utterly safe for once.

Damon finished the cleaning of her wounds and decided it was no need to cover them up, the scratches were shallow and would heal quickly by themselves. He pushed the first aid kit away before he placed his hands firmly at her waist to help her down from the countertop. She surprised him when she leant towards him and with slow and testing movements slipped her arms around his neck and tentatively brought him a few inches closer so she could put her head on his shoulder. Damon, as a vampire that had kept the human habit of breathing to maintain the sense of smelling, could feel himself completely stop inhaling at the unexpected embrace. He didn't need a second invitation though, and quikly had his arms wrapped tightly around her waist and his nose pressed against the soft skin at the nape of her neck. After a moment Damon remembered how to breath again and drew in inhale after inhale filled whit her unik sweet smell, and could feel desire start to prickle in his skin at having her so close. Lusty thoughts and desires were hurredly pushed away though, he knew that wasn't what she had intended when she had let him close to her. It was closeness and comfort she needed, a sanctuary where she could feel safe and have peace of mind, and he relished in the feeling of him being the one who could provide her with that.

Elena didn't know what had made here do what she did, but in one way or the other she had ended up in a tight embrace with the last person on earth she was supposed to seek comfort from. She was almost frightened when she felt how little she cared about that. Damon had been her gratest source of comfort and safety for months now and she hadn't been able to resist the need to seek his consolation and safety tonight that he had so willingly given her on several occations before without her asking for it. She let herself hold on to the strong body under her hands a couple of moments longer befor she slowly straightened her back a little so she was able to see his face. His eyes was so soft and warm that she felt her heart flutter a little at the sight and for a long time they were locked in each others gaze. Elena's hands were still tangled lightly behind Damon's neck, their faces only inches apart and she never knew what might have happened hadn't Damon spoken a moment later.

"Its time for bed Angel", he siad in a low voice, and continued with a smirk, "hold on thight"

Elena only had time to watch him with a confused look in her eyes before Damon suddenly pulled her tight to his body and took of with her upstairs with vampire speed. Elena couldn't help to gasp and hide her face in the crock of his neck when the blurring images that filled her vision made her dizzy and something close to seasick. The experience was over in a few seconds and she opened her eyes and freed her face from his neck when he let her legs that had been wrapped around his waist drop to the floor. She was still kind of faint after the new experience and Damon kept an arm around her shoulders to steady her. After the world had stopped spining she took a look around and realised immediately where he had brought her.

"Damon! I cant sleep in your room. I'm going downstairs to sleep on the couch", she said while she started to turn around to walk downstairs again. Damon had a firm grip on her arm before she was able to take a step though.

"Nah, ahh, your sleeping her with me Sweetheart", he said in a way that was designed as not to be argued. Elena didn't want to give up that easily though and opened her mouth to protest, but was quikly silenced by a slender, pale finger pressing agaist her lips.

"Your sleeping here with me because I refuse to run around the house and wake you from anymore nightmares. Its not that like I need my beauty sleep but I like to get it regardless", he said in a voice that was half teasing and half serious, and promised a long argument if she didn't comply him.

Elena shot Damon a dirty look before her eyes travelled to the bed and he could see she tried to decide if she should take the argument with him or sucumb to her tired body and just crawl under the covers of his comfy bed. He decided to quicken the thoughtprossess a little and before Elena knew it she was bounching up and down on the bed with a confused look on her face.

"Damon! What the…", she started yelling, but was interrupted by a soon too be impatient vampire.

"Oh come on Elena, it's a big bed, and I promise to keep to my side. Do you need me to pinky swear?", he said with a smirk, but his voice had quite anote of tiredness and impatience to it.

Elena realised she was to tired to continue the argument and with an annoyed snort she let herself fall down on her back on the bed and bent her legs to slip of her shoes. Damon's smirk was wide when he settled on the other side of the bed and watched her annoyd features.

"Do we need a pillow-wall?" he suddenly asked amused, "I'm kind of afraid you are going to grope me while I'm sleeping"

She snorted again at his stupid joke, and slipped under the covers before she demonstratively turned her back to him and settled on her side. While she had her eyes close she could hear Damon take his shoes off before he turned of the light and settled under the covers next to her.

Elena didn't remember to have fallen asleep, the next thing she know she was running for her life throug a dark forest, screaming in the distance making the blood chill in her vains. It was something different with this nightmare though, she was more aware, like she knew what was going to happen before it did. She wasn't surprised when a smooth stonewall suddenly blocked her way or the darkness seemed to wrap around like a evil foreboding. When she turned her back agaist the hard stone she knew who was going to step out of the darkness and in a way, her knowing all that was going to happen, made the dream even worse than her previous nightmares.

Like she had predicted a dark figure soon appeared in the shadows, quickly approaching her. As a change from her previous nightmares Stefan didn't do the good-guy act, but walked in a slow predatory stile towards her, his sharp theet already showing and his face smared crimson with innoncent blood. Elena couldn't help her heartbeat from running wild with fear at the sight and felt a scream starting to form in her chest. Stefan smiled to her with his predatory mouth, only meteres away, when he suddenly stopped like he had met an invisible barrier of some sort. His animalistic features twisted in pure rage at the unexpected hinder between him and his pray and a loud growl tore the air around him.

"Why doesn't it really surprise me that my brother is a pain in the ass both present and not present", a familiar voice suddenly sounded close to Elena's left side.

"Damon!", Elena yelled both in surprise and utter relief, and couldn't stop herself from running the few meters that separated them and throw herself against his chest.

Damon, who had removed Elena's neckless and compelled himself into her dream when she had started thrashing around on his bed, hold her close, both the dream-Elena and the real Elena who had finally come to a rest in his arms.

"Close your eyes Sweetheart", he gently told her in her dream, and to his pleasure she complied him at once.

Watching her head pressed securely against his chest with her eyes closed, he swiftly changed the atmosphere of the dream.

"You can open your eyes now", he whispered in her ear.

Elena's eyes slowly opened and she hesitantly left the safety of his chest to look around, gasping at the sight.

"Oh Damon, its beautiful", she whispered back, happiness lacing her voice in a way that made his chest swell with emotion.

He gently tugged her with him to the ground so they could watch the beautiful sunrise in front them that sent a soft glowing light at the landscape before them. Stefan was gone with the darkness, and the forest in the soft light of the bleeding sun looked peaceful. Elena leaned into Damon's strong body and hid her face against his neck for a moment, relishing in the familiar smell of her saviour. After a little while Damon put her arms around her, and when he had pulled her as close as possible, Elena slowly lifted her face to look into his ice blue eyes that reflected the soft light of the sun.

"Thank you", she whispered softly, before she slowly bent toward him and gently touched his lips with her own.

Damon kissed her back softly, their lips slowly moving together and the sky above them turning even brighter with the happiness flowing trough Damon's body. Elena pulled slowly away after a while and nestled up to Damon's chest, head resting on his shoulder. Damon held the girl close to his chest and leant back against the stonewall, silently watching the sunrise make a knew day before his eyes.

When he a moment later was back in the real world he had Elena nestled up against his chest, her hair tickling his nose. He was confused when he could feel a sweet taste on his lips and he smiled when he realised the kiss hadn't only happened in her dreams. He gently pulled her closer and bent his head down to first place a gentle kiss on her forehead and then whisper softly in her ear.

"Your welcome, Angel"

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><p>Thanks for reading:) Please remember to review:)<p> 


	6. Beauty Lies Within

Hello again everyone!

My sixth one-shot is here and as always I hope you will enjoy it:)

I've read through my previous chapters and have noticed quite a few spelling mistakes. I want to apologize for these, English is not my native language, so I hope you will excuse me:)

I wont promise when I will be able to upload my next chapter since exams is quickly approaching, but I will try to update as quickly as possible.

Now, please read, enjoy and review:)

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries or any of the characters in this story. Only the plot is mine.

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><p>Elena sighed heavily, shifting slightly on the couch and feeling a stabbing pain in her forehead as a result. She cursed herself for being tricked by the brightly shining sun yesterday and wearing only summer clothes to school. They had just rounded September and had started on the month of October and the shining sun had persuaded her to only throw a light jacket over her usual tank top. Of course the sharp tinge of autumn in the air had made her nose red and her throat sore and she had woken up the next day feeling like a home for all the green, icky germs in the world.<p>

Elena sneezed again, having just enough warning to quickly snap a tissue out of the box on the coffee table to cover her mouth and nose. Her head ached terribly at the force of her sneeze and she lay back against the soft pillows on the couch, throwing the used tissue in the growing pile in the wastebasket next to her. She sighed again, thinking about how much fun her friends probably were having hanging out at the Grill. A band was playing there tonight, and Jeremy, Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler and Matt had walked over there right after school to help with the rigging. Elena had been supposed to be with them, but after waking up this morning feeling like death she had to give up both the regular school day and the evening entertainment.

Looking around Elena thought she should probably start to clean up the living room after spending her hole sick-day there. Several of the cushions which had decorated the couch was thrown messily at the floor, the coffee table was filled with different containers of painkillers and cough medicine, in addition to hardly touched plates of food and cups with different beverages she had tried to consume without any luck. She looked at the mess and tried to find the strength to stand up and clean it away, but after about ten minutes consideration she concluded that she could need a little nap to build up her strength to the task that in her current condition seemed as tempting and manageable as climbing Mont Everest with a blindfold and her legs tied together. Alaric was at the school going thru a bunch of history assignments and wouldn't be home before much later, so she had plenty of time to get the living room back to normal standard before he was back. Snuggling down in the cushions and bringing the blanket closer around her she almost felt good, and fell asleep a minute later.

Elena woke up about an hour later and to her grate displeasure felt more horrible than ever. Before she tried to open her eyes she could feel she had a heavy case of "pinky eye", her eyelashes were glued together of some thick liquid leaking from her eyes and she knew that if she would take a look at herself in the mirror her eyes would be red and swollen. She cursed under her breath, trying to rub the liquid out of her eyelashes so she could be able to open her eyes. Tentatively she tried to open her eyes, seeing nothing but blurry shapes in front of her. Her eyes travelled the room while she was trying to blink the blurriness away and she nearly jumped off the couch when a black silhouette came into view sitting in an armchair to her right. Without thinking, survival instinct kicking in, she opened her mouth to scream, but quicker than lightning a big hand covered her mouth and a familiar voice whispered in her ear.

"Easy Sweetheart, I thought you should be used to vampires lurking around by now. Sorry, my mistake", he whispered soothingly with a badly concealed hint of amusement.

"Damon!", she gasped half in relief, half annoyed, rubbing desperately at her eyes to clear her vision. Luckily her rubbing helped and her sight was back to her within seconds, revealing a smirking vampire with midnight black hair falling messily over his eyes, hiding some of the amusement and mischief in them.

"And good afternoon to you too Sleepyhead", he replied, his smirk getting wider by the second.

"Was all that really necessary Damon? Walking into the house uninvited and watching me sleep? Kind of creepy you know", Elena complained, trying to calm down her thunderous heartbeat.

"Oh, come on Elena! Vampire remember. We like…exist to be creepy. Count Dracula, not a nice guy you know", he replied, voice still leaking amusement.

Elena just harrumphed and leant back against the pillows again, feeling everything else than fine in that moment. Her throat had become even sorer than before her nap, her head was aching furiously and she could feel she had gotten quite a fever. She really didn't have the patience for Damon's mocking sense of humour today and tried to come up with some excuse to make him leave. Before she could come up with anything she was hit by a forceful fit of coughing and doubled over on the couch, one hand covering her mouth and the other clutching her aching head.

Damon's amused attitude was suddenly gone and he hurriedly moved from the chair to slid down next to her on the couch, carefully placing a hand between her shoulder blades and rubbing lightly up and down. When her coughing stilled, she kept her hands clutched to her head, moaning lightly of the pain that coursed trough her head in crushing waves. Damon gently placed a finger under her chin and made her look at him. She watched him a little confused trough dazed eyes while he removed her hands from her head, carefully replacing them with his own and slowly rubbing her temples in soothing circles. Elena let it happen, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of her headache easing a little and her body becoming slightly more relaxed.

"Is that better?", Damon asked her after a little while in silence, seriousness lacing his voice and his eyes turned worried.

"A little", she answered. "But if you think this makes up for the way you scared the life out of me a moment ago you are sorely mistaken", she continued in a slightly irritated tone.

"Come on Elena, you know you cant stay mad at this face for long", he replied, a fake pout on his lips and pleading eyes with a glimpse of amusement watching her.

Elena replied with a snort and rolling her eyes before she leant her head against the back of the couch and closing her eyes. She still felt horrible and she dragged the blanket closer around herself when she started to feel cold, her forehead starting to shine with cold sweat. With another sigh she opened her eyes to find the thermometer she had left on the coffee table, but got surprised when Damon's thoughts had been ahead of her own and he was already waving it in front of her nose.

"Open up Sweetheart", he said, probing the tip of the instrument against her lips and giving her a encouraging look. She hated that there still was traces of amusement in his voice, but willingly opened her mouth so he could gently place the tip of the thermometer under her tongue. Elena tried not to show any emotions as one of Damon's fingers accidentally brushed her bottom lip as he retracted his hand, leaving tiny tingles in the sensible skin.

When the thermometer beeped Damon caught it before she even had the time to lift her hand, and when he looked at it a look of displeasure crossed his handsome face.

"38,9 , you really are sick, aren't you", his smugness completely gone from his features.

"Oh, what gave it away? My coughing, my fever or maybe the lovely shade of pink in my eyes?", she answered tiredly, her voice stripped for anything assembling humour. He chose to ignore the sarcastic comment and his voice had turned serious when he talked a moment later.

"I might be able to help you with your eyes actually", he said slowly. "Wait here a minute", he continued before he suddenly disappeared with vampire speed.

Elena looked around with a confused look before she caught some sounds from the kitchen and understood where he had gone. She didn't have the energy to feel curious at the moment and instead of following him and ask him what he was doing , she snuggled up against the cushions and soon started drifting of.

She didn't know if she had been asleep for five minutes or an hour when she was aroused from her sleep by a gentle hand on her arm. Feeling her eyelashes sticking together again she gently rubbed her eyes before she opened them and found Damon's face only inches away from her own. He was kneeling in front of her, and carefully reached out his hands and cupped her face with them so he could hold her head steady while he examined her eyes.

"Hm, just like I thought. You have a little infection caused by the cold you've gotten. This should help", he said, releasing her face to dip a cotton pad in a cup placed in front of him on the floor. "Can you close your eyes for me Elena?"

Not wanting to argue in addition to the faith she had in Damon considering her well-being, made her trustingly close her eyes and await his administrations. She gasped lightly when she felt the cotton pad gently brush her left eye, washing her sticky eyelashes and leaving behind a cold and soothing liquid.

"What is it", she asked wonderingly, relishing in the sweet smell from the liquid and the soothing effect it had on her eyes.

"Just some cold camomile tea. An old remedy to cure pinky eye. Must have picked it up somewhere along the way I guess", he replied close to her face, his warm breath fanning here skin and making it tingle again.

Damon honestly enjoyed the feeling of be able to help Elena, and he was glad that one of the many things he had picked up during his long existence could come to her aid. He slowly continued washing her eyes, making sure all the stickiness was out of her long dark lashes. Every time she let out a tiny sigh of contentment it pulled at his heartstrings and he could feel small delicious tingles in his fingertips when he accidentally brushed her soft skin.

Damon was about to finish with a couple more soft strokes when he noticed that Elena's body had started shaking slightly. Confused he put the cotton pad down and reached up with a hand to touch her forehead and growled in displeasure when he felt the damp and burning hot skin under his palm. He gently grabbed her hand that was resting on top of the blanket to arouse her from her sleepy state and frowned again when her hand felt as cold as her forehead had felt warm. Elena slowly opened her eyes and watched him dazedly while he rubbed her hand carefully.

"Elena, I'm going to carry you up to your room now, okay? Your fever seems to get worse and you are going to need lots of rest to get better. You'll sleep better in your bed than down here on the couch", he said slowly, trying to hide his worry, but concern colouring his every word.

Elena was to far gone at that moment to answer him, her body and mind was torn between the sleepy daze Damon's soft touches had produced and the pain and coldness her illness made her a slave to. After a short while she nodded silently and she could instantly feel warm arms wrap around her and lift her with so little effort that she in her feverish state almost believed she was weightless and flying.

Damon carried her quickly upstairs, taking two steps at a time but still keeping Elena so steady in his arms that not a single hair on her head was disarranged when he reached her bedroom. Walking inside he cursed silently when he noticed the window was open and her room had a much lower temperature than the room they had just left. He contemplated however he should place her in her bed or settle for the couch downstairs, when Elena disturbed his thought with pulling at the sleeve on his shirt and asking him to put her on her bed. Watching her face with her eyelids half closed he realized she was dead-tired and it would probably be best to consent to her wishes, she would sleep much better in her bed than on the couch downstairs. Hurriedly, but gently he got her under the covers and had closed the window and turned up the heat on the radiator before Elena had been able to blink her eyes.

Elena had been aroused from her sleepy state when her body had met with the cold sheets on her bed and she couldn't stop the shaking that that made her teeth shatter in her mouth and her eyes water.

"Damon…I'm cold", Elena said teary-eyed, knowing that she sounded like a sick and needy child but in no state to care at the time.

Damon quickly approached her, carrying a blanket he had taken from her window seat and gently wrapping it around her over the covers. When he knelt down beside her bed to rub her hands and arms under the blanket, Elena was shocked to see that his expression was softer and gentler that she had ever seen it before, his eyes showing so much honest concern that she felt her heart flutter with emotion. For a long moment their gazes was locked in a silent conversation, he expressing his concern and love for her and she thanking him for both. They would probably have stayed like that for a long time hadn't Elena started shaking so badly it almost looked like she had a seizure under the covers. Damon brows frowned, before he quickly straightened up.

"I'm going to get you something for the cold. I'll be back in a couple of minutes, okay", he said before he disappeared with a gust of air.

Like promised, he was back to minutes later with a steaming cup of tea and a small box of something Elena couldn't recognise.

"What did you bring", she asked sleepily, watching him putting the cup on her nightstand and starting to pull the lid of the mystery box.

"Well, first I made you a hot cup of tea, but while that is cooling down a bit I planned on rubbing this Tiger balm on your back and chest. It will make you warmer and probably ease your cough a little too", he said with a satisfied smirk on his face. He wasn't quite sure if he was happiest about finding the balm and being able to help her or the prospect of touching her smooth skin again. Either way, he was immensely pleased with himself.

Elena who was still shaking from the fever felt bad enough to welcome every little thing that could ease her discomfort a little, and willingly rolled over to lie one her stomach so Damon could apply the sticky substance on her back.

Damon carefully pulled the covers and blanket down so he could reach her back, noticing with relief that the room temperature had increased with several degreases since they entered the room. She wasn't wearing a bra under her tank top so he settled with tugging the thin fabric halfway up her back, before he started applying the Tiger balm to her exposed skin. He could feel the balm heating under his fingers and he couldn't help smiling genuinely when Elena sighed in contentment and visibly relaxed under his hands. Before he asked her to turn back around he applied a generous amount of balm on his fingers and reached under her tank top to massage it into the soft skin between her shoulder blades, relishing in the soft feel under his probing fingers as he did so.

Elena knew that she probably should have insisted on rubbing the balm on her chest herself, but she was to caught up in the soothing and comforting movements of Damon's gentle hands to be able to give the thought much notice. It was so far between the times she could feel safe and cared for in this harsh world, and when Damon was there and took care of her she felt she could finally drop her guard and unwind. She needed those moments, she didn't think she could live without them. Her thoughts was disturbed when Damon's fingers travelled slightly under the hem of the neckline of her tank top and casually stroked the upper parts of her breasts. A moment later they moved back up, but not before they had left burning trails on her exposed skin and made her breath slightly quicker. Suddenly Elena felt a finger under her chin and let it gently pull her head back so she was looking directly into the ice blue eyes of her protector. They locked gazes again while Damon very gently rubbed her temples with the self-heating balm, and she felt her mind go completely peaceful with all the loving emotion she found in the depths of his eyes. Her breath hitched in her throat when she saw Damon carefully lean in closer to her face and she instinctively closed her eyes. A moment later she felt the softest brush of warm lips against the corner of her mouth and sat completely still as not to brake the fragile trance that had them enthralled.

A couple of seconds later Damon pulled slowly away from her, watching her for a long while before he broke the moment which rapidly got more serious to hand her the cup of tea that still was cooling of on her nightstand. She accepted the cup and eagerly gulped down the content, thirsty after a long day with a dehydrating fever. A minute later she could have hit herself for her stupidity, when the too quickly consumed beverage made her stomach uneasy and made her throw herself out of bed and run for the bathroom.

Damon followed close behind and stayed by her rubbing her back and whispering words of comfort while she threw up the little contents of her stomach. When Elena was done she refused to go back to bed, knowing the nausea wasn't over she collapsed on the bathroom floor, crying silently from the exhaustion overtaking her body and making her loose all her normal composure. Damon quickly grabbed a blanket and a pillow from her bedroom and went back to the bathroom to make her more comfortable. Sitting against the wall, he placed the head of the weeping girl on the pillow in his lap, gently stroking her hair and neck while humming an old melody he remembered from his childhood.

Gradually Damon could feel Elena's body unwind and her breathing become more even and deep as she balanced on the edge between consciousness and sleep. He intently watched her face and couldn't help reaching out a finger and stroke it as soft as an angels wing across her features, her face blessedly make-up free and bare under his fingers. He gently brushed his fingers over her slightly red eyelids, tracing the light purple half circles under her eyes, skimming down her red nose and ending up softly stroking her dry lips. Her hair was spread in sweaty tangles around her face and pillow, and her face was pale and clearly showing signs of sickness and exhaustion.

For Damon, all he could see was the face of thru, unstained and innocent beauty, and he could swear that in that moment, as Elena was lying in his lap like a sick little child with her looks violated by the sickness and tears drying on her cheeks, he fell in love with her for the second time within a year. Watching her soft features in the dim light of a lonely light bulb he realized with a genuine smile on his face, it most certainly wouldn't be the last.

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><p>Thanks for reading:) Please remember to review:)<p>

PS: The remedy Damon uses in this story to help Elena cure her "pinky eyes" is a genuine remedy that my mother treated me with when I was a child. It really works and is much healthier than antbiotics:) Just a little tips to the sick people out there:)


	7. Hearts Eternal Storm

Hello again everyone!

Soo, I have worked really hard on this new one-shot for you, and I really hope you will like it.

My exams is right around the corner and I have been studying by day, and written fanfic at night. Kind of feeling like Wonder Woman right now actually;)

I hope my effort will earn me lots of inspirational reviews:)

I will really like to thank all of you that have reviewed my story up until now. A special thanks to them that have followed my story and reviewed every chapter:) You are the one's that keeps me inspired and writing, remember that;)

Then, all thats left to say is: Please read, enjoy and review:)

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries or any of the characters in this story. Only the plot is mine.

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><p>The sky was a frightening shade of dark grey and Elena expected the rain to start falling any minute as she was driving home from spending the evening with Bonnie and Caroline at Bonnie's house. Bonnie's father's house didn't reside within the town centre and Elena had another 20 minutes with lonely driving ahead of her. She hadn't liked the prospect of driving home on the roads that was far from the best in the district with the imminent threat of storm in the air, but she had school in the morning and had promised Alaric to return home that night.<p>

Elena couldn't help repeatedly leaning over the steering wheel and watching the sky above her, hoping to reach her dry and comfy home before the sky would brake and shower the earth with its content. She knew she wasn't the best driver in town and the thought of driving in a dark, stormy night didn't seem much appealing to her. Her eyes was once again trailing the sky above her when she heard a sharp sound that seemed to come from somewhere inside the car, and her heart started beating loudly in her chest when the car began slowing down despite her firm pressure on the accelerator. A slightly burning smell hit her nostrils, and she uttered a silent curse when she remembered Alaric mentioning a week ago that the clutch in her car was worn and needed to be changed.

After a few more meters the car stopped and Elena felt desperation and fear crawl up her spine when she looked out of the window and realized she had stopped in the middle of a forest. She forced back the panic and concentrated on thinking rationally. Her phone, she had her phone, she could call somebody and have them pick her up. Elena quickly searched through her bag, not wanting to spend a moment longer than she had to in this godforsaken place. When she finally found what she was looking for she almost screamed in frustration, her phone had no signal and when she tried to make a call only a loud beeping sound filled her ears.

Elena was fighting with the part of herself that wanted to scream and cry. In her past she had been up against vampires, werewolves, withes and even an particularly evil hybrid, but something with the tightness of the dark surrounding her and the slight wind that had started rustling the branches on the threes, made this an equally scary experience. Breathing in a huge amount of air to calm her shaky nerves she swallowed her fear and decided to leave her car and try to find a signal for her phone.

The minute she opened the door of her car and stepped outside a gust of icy air made her shiver and wrap her jacket closer around her shoulders. She watched around, trying to figure out in what direction she was most likely to get a signal. After looking around for some time she settled for a small hilltop on the left side of the road. The thought of leaving the road and walk into the woods scared her terribly, but she knew her best chance of finding phone coverage was to get higher in the terrain, and she forced her numb legs to start walking towards her chosen destination.

After about fifteen minutes trashing around in the terrain, she reached the top of the hill and almost jumped and screamed with joy when her phone picked up a faint signal and she was able to make a call. Since Bonnie and Caroline probably had gone to bed and Alaric often spent his nights drinking at the Grill, she decided to call Damon. Weirdly, his name had actually been the first one she had thought about, but she choose to ignore that fact for now. Dialling his number, she inwardly begged for him to answer his phone, and breathed out in relief when she heard a crackling _hello _on the other end.

"Damon?…", she almost screamed into her phone, relieved to hear his voice. "Damon, I got some problems with my car when I was driving home from Bonnie's and I'm stranded in some forest. Could you please come and pick me up?", she asked in her most pleading voice, a touch of panic unconsciously lacing in between her words.

Elena cursed when the reply was just a loud crackling noise and she tried desperately to walk around to find a better signal. Of course, the sky cracked open in just that moment and the rain started pouring down fast and heavy, feeling like needle stabs at the exposed skin on her face and hands. She whimpered in frustration and continued to walk around to find a signal, the thought of Damon not hearing her desperate plea tearing at her and making her close to panic.

In her desperate search for communication with the outside world, she didn't notice she was walking close to the edge of the hillside and with the rain making the rocky ground underneath her feet slippery she screamed as she suddenly slipped and desperately tried to gain balance before she felt herself fall into thin air. Elena desperately tried to grab hold of something as she started rolling down the hillside, sharp rocks and thorny bushes grazing her vulnerable skin and living behind bloody trails for her to remember them by, but no leverage for her thrashing hands.

For a short moment, while her surroundings was rushing past her in a kaleidoscope of different sensations, her mind become completely clear. So this was how she was going to die, not drunk dry by a vampire, not ripped apart by a werewolf, only crushed to pieces in a most common accident. One small morbid part of her brain was pleased with the fact. Actually, she had time to think that she was at peace with dieing this way, a normal human death, just like she believed nature had intended it all along.

A loud thump filled the air and radiated through her body as she mercilessly hit the bottom. Dark spots danced in her vision and fogginess gradually started clouding her mind. When the first spurt of adrenaline was out of her system, she felt overwhelming pain flow through her body in crushing waves, making her eyes blurry with tears. Her mind slowly went into silent panic, and in the distance of her clouded mind she felt herself gradually loose contact with her body, her brain blocking out the pain and panic and giving her the welcomed gift of unconsciousness.

When Elena briefly gained consciousness a while later all she felt was a terrible ach in her whole body. Out of the fog of her pained senses she felt that she was moving, her body rocking slightly back and forth with the movements of someone carrying her. The familiar smell of leather and some expensive cologne hit her nostrils and she whimpered in relief, knowing without opening her heavy eyelids that she was completely safe.

"Damon…", she managed to whisper through her dry lips, still too exhausted to open her eyes.

"It's okay Angel, I'll take care of you. Just go back to sleep", Damon's familiar deep voice answered her, and the softness and caring of his word wrapped around her like a spell and seduced her into a sweet darkness, taking all her pain away and giving her exhausted mind some well needed peace.

Elena didn't now how long she had been unconscious when she woke up some time later, her mind feeling slightly less foggy and her thoughts a bit more untangled and readable. She felt a soft surface underneath her and slowly forced her eyes open to take in her surroundings. She was facing the ceiling and she immediately recognised the rough rafters of the Boarding House. Her head turned slowly to the side when she heard soft footsteps approaching her and a faint trace of a smile touched her lips when her saviour came into view, sitting quietly down next to her on the bed as she by now had identified as the huge four-poster in said persons bedroom.

"How are you feeling", he asked, his voice laced with honest concern.

"Not so good really", Elena replied, feeling the numbness and fogginess of her unconsciousness gradually ease away and make room for the pain that accompanied her beaten body.

"I have a hot bath ready for you, we need to get your temperature back up and wash away all the blood so I can see your injuries properly", he continued in an almost professional voice, his icy calmness a carefully undertaken mask to conceal his burning concern for the girl by his side.

He watched her with a mixture of utter relief and sickening worry as she nodded silently and started to pull the covers away. The feeling had stayed with him ever since he had found her crumpled together, cold and bleeding, in a pile of rocks some hundred meters away from her car. Never in his life had he blessed his vampire curse as when his heighten sense of smell had brought him the scent of her sweet blood and he had been able to find her faster than any professional rescuing squad.

Damon woke up from his thoughts when he saw Elena struggle to get of the bed, and was by her side within a second to put a supporting arm around her waist, gently helping her of the bed and into the bathroom. Scanning her violated body he already knew she had a dislocated shoulder and probably a couple of broken ribs, but he needed to clean her body to know the full extent of her injuries. He turned his back to let her try to undress on her own, but his gentleman like behaviour turned out unnecessary as Elena addressed him a moment later.

"Damon, I…I think I need some help", Elena asked shyly, her pain overshadowing some, but not nearly enough of the embarrassment of her request.

Had the situation been any other Damon would have smirked at the silent question, but under the present circumstances he felt nothing else than seriousness lace his features as he faced her shaking form and nodded silently in reply. She had only been able to open her jeans and skim the halfway down her thighs and he carefully slid them down her long legs and helped her step out of them, letting her lean her unhurt arm against his back for support. When he looked at her sweater he knew it would be impossible to remove without causing great disturbance to her hurt arm, and while Elena watched him with wide eyes he merely ripped it in two like it was a bit of tissue paper and slid it off both of her arms.

When she was finally placed safely in the bathtub, her underwear still in place, Elena let out a pleased sigh as the hot water made her body slightly more numb to the pain and let her muscles unwind. She frowned though when she saw the water quickly turn pink with her blood and Damon let the faucets run to clear out the blood and dirt that clouded the water around her. When the water turned clear again Damon helped Elena wash the blood and dirt out of her long hair. Elena was leaning heavily against the wall of the bathtub while she tried not to enjoy to much the soothing feeling of Damon's fingers massaging her scalp and the small tugs in her hair roots that sent involuntary shivers down her spine.

If the situation had been less precarious Damon wouldn't have protested spending a whole day watching Elena in his bathtub and wash her smooth skin, but he knew he had to take care of her injuries as soon as possible and all to soon he had Elena wrapped in a big white towel as he helped dry of her body. Damon couldn't help reacting to the intimate situation as he helped Elena remove her wet underwear under the towel, although he tried to act nonchalant and unaffected, his nerves tightened with need and excitement at being so close to her beautiful form.

Elena knew she was flushed red from her chest to her hair roots as she felt Damon's hand slip her underwear over her feet and toss it in a wet heap on the floor. She felt utterly naked in spit of the towel tucked firmly around her body, and she couldn't help feeling that his piercing stare could see right through the fabric and in to the core of her fragile being.

Damon disturbed Elena from her thoughts, when he suddenly stood in front of her with a huge fluffy blanket stretched out between his arm, inviting her into its warmth and softness. Elena smiled nervously when Damon made an act out of closing his eyes firmly shut, making her a silent promise of protecting her modesty. Silently Elena stepped in between Damon's outstretched arms and when she felt them close around her with the blanket, she let her towel slid to the floor, at the same time cursing her heart for beating so fast in her chest.

If Damon noticed Elena's involuntary reactions to the intimate situation he didn't mention it, and she was eternally grateful for that, she wasn't ready to acknowledge that kind of feelings to herself yet, and certainly not anyone else. Her mind once again shot back to the present as Damon gently grabbed hold of her and carried her into his room, her weight appearing as nonexistent in his strong arms.

Elena gasped when she saw the big fire he had lit up in the fireplace, radiating a soft glowing light that made shadows dance mystically around the big room. He put her down on a soft rug close to the fire and Elena immediately felt the warmth envelope her, tongues of soft heath radiating from the fire and licking the bare skin of her arms in a comforting and soothing manner. Damon appeared beside her a moment later, kneeling at her side and tucking a soft pillow under her aching head. She groaned quietly, crushing waves of pain still making her nerve endings sing with agony and her body tense up in quiet surrender. Her eyes shifted and settled on Damon's furrowed features, she could practically see the wheels turning in his head, and the soft and caring look in his eyes made a feeling of safeness creep slowly up her spine and nestle around her heart.

"Elena, I need to check your body for broken bones now, okay? Please tell me if it hurts when I touch you anywhere", Damon's said seriously, his eyes not leaving hers before she had nodded silently in consent.

Damon's hands started sliding up her arms, his fingers putting gentle pressure to test her fragile bones. Elena leaned back against the pillow, trying to block out all feelings of pleasure as Damon's hands continued their slow going search, her heartbeat increasing considerably when his hands slid under the only peace of fabric covering her now slightly trembling body. His warm hands pressed tentatively against the bones of her legs, before they slid back out from the blanket, leaving Elena in a confused state of incompleteness and longing.

Elena had a hard time understanding her own feelings and her reactions to Damon's gentle touches. She knew instinctually that this hadn't got anything to do with wild running hormones or cheap lust, and that thought scared her more than anything else. It wasn't lust that filled her body when he was near or touching her, it was need. Pure need for him. For his comforting presence, for his soothing touches. The realisation almost knocked the air out of her lungs and she could feel tears gathering in the corners of her eyes as her mind fought with the guilt that accompanied her newfound understanding.

Elena refused to go through this inner war at this most inappropriate of times though, and managed with an outstandingly power of will to push all thoughts considering the matter to the back of her head, several moths of suppression of emotions giving her an advantage.

The moment Elena started to feel more in control over her own feelings again, Damon's hand snuck under the blanket to trail down her side, his long gentle fingers probing against her ribs and sending small electric tingles through her skin and deep into her body, sweetly grazing her soul in the process. She opened her eyes that had been closed during her internal battle and found Damon's face directly above her own. His face was open, emotional almost. His ocean blue eyes shone with love, caring and a need so strong she almost lost her breath at witnessing something with such intensity. Her breath hitched in her throat and she swore she felt her heart stop beating when Damon slowly started leaning closer to her, his gaze still locked with hers, pleading for her consent to proceed. Elena had to many disturbing feelings crashing around in her head to do anything else than close her eyes, needing release for her feelings but in no condition to know how.

Seconds that felt as minutes later, she felt Damon's lips descend upon her own, and her mind spun with different emotions, all mercilessly pulling her in different directions. Damon's soft lips commanded her attention and for a minute she forgot anything else than the soft ministrations of his possessive mouth. Her own lips hesitantly answering his gentle movements.

When Damon felt her consent flowing from her lush lips he gently tipped her head back, deepening the kiss and running his soft tongue against her lower lip, begging for her consent to deepen their intimate touch. Elena felt his chest press tight against her own and one of his hands skim up her blanket-clad body as she slowly opened her mouth to accept him. The moment she expected his soft tongue to brush her own she heard a loud cracking sound and felt an intense pain shoot through her shoulder and explode in her nerve centre, knocking the breath out of her lungs and press tears to her sore eyes.

Damon muffled her scream against his mouth before he unwillingly let go of her sweet lips, knowing that he had saved her for much pain and unnecessary dread at timing his replacing of her shoulder carefully, but missing her soft mouth just the same.

"I'm sorry Elena, I had to put your shoulder back in place. How are you feeling?", he asked her gently, stroking carefully away the salty water that leaked from her eyes with the tips of his fingers.

Elena was to confused to reply for a while. She had experienced heaven for then to been thrown into hell and finally ending up somewhere in between in the matter of seconds. Her head was spinning, her body hurting and her lips missing his sweet taste. She was about to loose it, and she nearly didn't care.

"I don't feel so good Damon. It hurts everywhere and my arm feels all numb", she managed to answer a minute later, her voice laced with to many emotions to identify, and her eyes facing Damon as he watched her tentatively and continued swiping away the tears that escaped her eyes.

"Elena, I would very much like you to take some of my blood. Its your choice, but I really believe your body need it to heal completely", he said in a deep serious voice, his gaze locked at her face to monitor her expressions.

Damon saw her facial features turn serious and thoughtful, her quick brain seeming to calculate the ups and down of his honest offer. He knew that she was in a lot of pain and that some of her injuries might never heal correctly if she didn't accept his offering, but he refused to let his selfish nature take the choice away from her as he had regrettably done on occasions before. To his great relief Elena gazed directly into his eyes a moment later and nodded silently.

"I trust you", was all she said before she struggled to get up into a sitting position, the simple words warming his cold heart more than any declaration of love from former lovers ever had, including her vicious doppelganger.

Damon placed her fragile frame between his legs and slid an arm protectively around her stomach, anchoring her complying body to his own before he gently bit into his wrist and offered it to her. When her lips met with his wrist, his eyes slid closed in intense pleasure and his head tipped back in oblivion. Her sweet mouth was sucking at his skin in a manner that to his sensitive vampire senses felt more like a caress than an attempt at self-preservation. His head bent on his own accord to rest against the crock of her neck, his mouth pressing tiny kisses to her shoulder and his arm tightening possessively around her torso. When she a moment later let go of his wrist, he almost whimpered in protest, but when she pulled his arms closer around her and nestled against his chest he relaxed and sighed silently with satisfaction.

"Can we stay like this", she asked silently, her voice softened by the sudden disappearance of pain and the sleepiness overtaking her worn body.

"Sure", he whispered close to her ear, "As long as you like"

And he really meant it. The concept of time, the concept of eternity didn't seem so important or so frightening when his arms where holding the precious form of her body. His arms instinctually pulled her closer while he placed a tender kiss to the top of her head, relishing in her sweet unique smell and whispering softly against her hair .

"As long as you like"

The repeated words followed Elena into the quiet and peaceful place between sleep and consciousness, and her lips curved in a content smile as she let her mind step over the edge and into a beautiful world of soft dreams.

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><p>Thanks for reading:) Please remember to review:)<p> 


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